Sacred Smiles and Love's Reflection
by CrazyNinjaPenguin
Summary: While watching Hinata train and compete in a local battle competition, Kurenai comes to realize some things she never knew and never felt about the girl. Kurenai X Hinata. Yuri. COMPLETE!
1. Nurturing a Smile

A/N: So this is fic number nine. Kurenai X Hinata is the pair this time around. I'm kinda relieved that after my last comedic crazy fic I can actually do something grounded that takes itself seriously, even though that fic was fun to write and this one will probably give me some grief somewhere along the line. As a precaution allow me to warn you that yes this is yuri, Kurenai and Hinata will be engaged in a romantic relationship and there will eventually be sex. You may think this very idea is sick, perverted, and twisted (and part of me agrees with you, just I kinda like sick, twisted and perverted) but if you are strongly opposed to this pairing then know that no one is forcing you to read this fic… unless of course if someone has strapped you down into a chair and for some reason is forcing you to read this fic, in which case I'm sorry and hopefully you'll learn to put up with it.

Disclaimer: I actually own Naruto this time… Oh, wait… No I Don't…

Many years had passed since the fragile visage of Hinata Hyuga had entered her life. In that time Kurenai Yuhi had experienced many things. Emotions of sadness and overwhelming joy, of love and friendship, of loss and despair, and of pain and pleasure had found their way into the woman's sheltered heart. Yet through it all this child had shone a brilliance on her life that proved to be something more irreplaceable than anything she could have imagined.

When Hinata Hyuga was first given to her she was even more fragile. She had been thrown into her arms, a frightened child, unwanted and resented by her father. Kurenai found tears in her eyes when she thought of how this girl came to her, yet she found nothing but elation as she monitored the girl's progress; she felt nothing but joy when she thought of how the girl idolized her as a mentor, of how in some small way, maybe she was bringing this fragile girl some comfort.

Then Hinata changed. That boy changed her and Kurenai knew it. Naruto Uzumaki, was one whom Kurenai realized she would always be held at second place to in Hinata's heart. In her weakness, Naruto had given her strength, he had inspired in her a new drive, a spark. Suddenly the girl wasn't so sad, she wasn't so miserable. Still, when her father took Hinata back from her care, Kurenai couldn't help but cry. The smile that had seemed to satiate her existence, the smile that drove her through the good and bad was now something she would see all too less frequently. But she couldn't be sad; no, Kurenai felt nothing but joy as she watched her most precious student steadily find acceptance and happiness in her life. Yet, still, she would have to treasure every smile.

"Hinata, I'd like to talk to you about something." Kurenai said as she approached her student one day.

"Yes, sensei." Hinata replied flashing a smile.

"Hinata, there is an event I'd like you to maybe participate in next month. I think it would be a good opportunity for you." Kurenai started, returning the smile.

"R-really… and what is that sensei?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"There is a taijutsu competition coming up, I think it would be a great opportunity for you… the Hyuga style is very hard to defeat, it's certain you would do well." Kurenai answered coolly.

"I don't know… this isn't the sort of thing that I… I mean, Kurenai sensei… I don't think I could…" Hinata fidgeted intensely as she tried to convey some thought.

"It's free entry but the competition is bracketed by sex, so even if Neji enters, which I doubt... you won't be fighting him if that's your objection." Kurenai said in a reassuring tone.

"Oh… that's not what I… I mean, still… I don't think this is the sort of thing I would want to do…" The young girl responded, averting her eyes.

"Well these sorts of competitions don't have any real meaning to them, but if you do well it might be considered when their making selections on missions, and could possibly be of use when they are considering promotions for new jounin. If you never do anything to prove your own worth, it will be hard for you to stand out." Kurenai spoke caringly.

"B-but what if I don't want to stand out… There are better shinobi then me…" Hinata said in a soft tone.

"That's fine, if you're content with no one noticing you, if you're fine with being overlooked by the ones you care about…" Kurenai said expertly, knowing where to pressure the girl.

"You think, that if I do stuff like this… that if I succeed that Na-… that other's will like me better." Hinata asserted meekly.

"Everyone already likes you. This is just so that they can all see that you are truly great." The older woman said consolingly to the other.

"I… well, sensei… I'm not sure…" Hinata stumbled on her words.

"I'll personally train you the rest of the month if you say yes." Kurenai suggested in an offer.

"But your specialty is genjutsu. I can't see how it would help me to be trained by you…" Hinata said reservedly.

"I thought you liked being trained by me… I may not have your technique but I can still oversee your training just like I always have. I thought you'd actually jump at being able to spend some time together like we used to." Kurenai said in a disappointed manner.

"Yes you're right. I would like that very much…" Hinata admitted sweetly.

"Then it's settled. You can stay at my place for the month while you perfect your technique. Then next month you'll promise to do your best." Kurenai said conclusively.

"B-but… I still don't… A-alright I promise. I'll try my best for you, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said finally giving in.

Hinata began her training for the competition the next day and weeks soon flew past. She trained hard under Kurenai's watch, striking out against various targets while Kurenai worked to make adjustments to her aim and speed. Hinata's technique was already so sharp and flawless from her time spent under the eyes of her father that Kurenai figured any change in the girl's form she could bring would be minute. In truth, Hinata's skill was spectacular to behold, yet it was obvious to Kurenai that for Hinata this might not be enough. The true purpose of her training this girl was not to bring about any physical change in the girl's battle posture, nor was it to prime the girl in terms of physical strength, but rather to work on bringing about a new state in Hinata's emotional being. Kurenai hoped to train this girl through a new approach, by talking to her.

"That's enough for today, Hinata." Kurenai called out as the girl continued to strike the set target with her palms.

"Yes sensei… though wouldn't it be better if I train some more. I mean we don't have much time left and it isn't that late yet… I could keep going…" Hinata managed to say in a withdrawn tone.

"I want to try a different approach this last week." Kurenai said coolly.

"Alright… what do you want to try?" Hinata asked intently.

"I'd like to ask a few questions to you…" Kurenai admitted in a sharp tone.

"I don't see how that will make me a stronger ninja…" Hinata started reclusively.

"But it will… You don't realize that in term of your battle posture and raw technique you're already on a level near equal to that of Neji." Kurenai said in a reasoning tone.

"I'm not… I'm not as good as that…" Hinata said with somber look in her eyes.

"No, you are. There are only a couple key differences in your skill. You're more cautious, which on the battlefield could prove to be a good thing. And you are not as confident, which is what I hope to improve here." Kurenai acquiesced.

"B-but what are you going to ask?" The young kunoichi's tone held an uncertainty to it.

"Just stuff about you." Kurenai said smiling.

"I don't know. I don't know if there is really anything to say." Hinata said with a sad gaze that revealed that this wasn't a topic she was particularly interested in discussing.

"Please, bear with me. I'm not trying to torture you, I only hope to let you see the root of your mental blocks….So let's see…What's your goal in life, Hinata?" Kurenai started her process deductively.

"I-I… I'm not sure… to live my life according to my ninja way and try never to disappoint those I care about." Hinata said with a repressed intensity.

"An interesting balance… you try to make your own path through things while trying perhaps even harder to meet the expectations of those precious to you." Kurenai said in a deep tone.

"I-I guess so…" Hinata agreed.

"What is more important, meeting the expectations of others, or ensuring their safety?" Kurenai gave her next question.

"I don't know… I'd like to do both…" Hinata said showing signs of discomfort.

"What if in the act of doing something terrible, something that you fear your friends may never look at you the same way after, you could save many more friends lives? What action would you take then?" Kurenai asked trying her hardest to see into the girl's every reaction.

"I-I… well… I think it would depend on the situation…" Hinata said fearfully.

"What if some people very precious to you are being held captive by the enemy. If they could be freed if you offered your body as payment would you take that deal?" Kurenai said now trying to ignore her precious student's obvious discomfort.

"I don't know what I'd do…" Hinata said shaking her head meekly.

"So you would freeze up, shake your head and pretend like it wasn't happening?" Kurenai said bluntly.

"N-no I would do it. I'd do anything to protect those I care for…" Hinata came to her conclusion.

"But what if those friends would then forever judge you based on that event?" Kurenai responded constructively.

"I-I, if they are really someone who cares about me, they would see that I did it for them…" Hinata ascertained with a focused look.

"If that is the case, if the love you receive from you friends is unconditional, then shouldn't your only goal be protecting those precious friends?" Kurenai tried to lead the girl.

"B-but…" Hinata failed to form a counter.

"Unless, you believe that the one's you hold near do not in necessity hold you in the same regard." Kurenai suggested classily.

"Y-yes I fear that more than anything…." Hinata acquiesced shyly.

"Is that due to the changes you saw in Neji, or perhaps, it was when you felt your father had abandoned you. Or maybe it related to how, no matter what you do, you seem to fail at attracting Naruto's eye." The jounin teacher tried to give a comforting smile as she hit the girl's every weak point.

"Yes. It's all of that. I want them to notice me, to cherish me." Hinata said softly though with a latent passion.

"Yet you expect them to love you, without giving them reason to do so." Kurenai said in an inquiring tone.

"I hold them dear and strive to protect them, isn't that enough?" Hinata replied with a hint of force.

"Perhaps, though sometimes, such actions are lost on people." Kurenai responded simply.

"Then I should make it so that they have to see." Hinata spoke showing a slight reluctance as if she knew she was proving her sensei's point.

"Hinata who is it you would protect above all else? If you could ensure the safety of one person who would that be?" Kurenai asked hoping the girl would come to eventually point to herself.

"N-Naruto…" Hinata answered hesitantly.

"So, you would protect someone who is seldom conscious of your existence and never conscious of your feelings over that existence and those feelings themselves?" Kurenai said critically.

"Y-you're right… no matter how I feel about Naruto, I can't say I would protect him no matter what…. There is a difference between loving someone and j-just admiring them from afar… I-I guess there is only one person who's life I would truly try to protect over even my own." Hinata found herself saying in a somewhat distant voice.

"Over your own…hmm… really? So you would give up your life for the sake of someone else? It is not befitting a ninja to unconditionally hold someone else in a higher regard than herself." Kurenai said trying to keep a stern face in front of the girl.

"B-but if I care about others, doesn't that become my strength?" Hinata asked immediately.

"There is a fine life between what becomes strength and what becomes weakness. Love can be strength, but through betrayal and disaster, it can become a person's greatest weakness. How sure are you that this one you care about will never betray you?" Kurenai said in a driven tone as she searched to shape the youg girl's heart.

"I know that could never happen…" Hinata said with a blush.

"No person is so perfect… you can't predict others, all you know is what they want you to know… The only one you can truly trust is yourself. So, tell me, who is this one you would protect?" Kurenai returned her previous question, now with a definite hidden curiosity.

"Actually… i-it's you, sensei… the only one who stood with me through everything. Ever since I met you… even when father didn't want me… even though Naruto doesn't want me… through everything you've always been guiding me… that's why you're the one most precious to me…" Hinata averted her eyes as she spoke in a shaky but heartfelt tone.

"H-Hinata… I-I…" Kurenai said in shock; she found herself unable to focus on whatever point she had been steadily building up to until this point.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to embarrass you…" Hinata replied noticing that her sensei was now the one who had been made suddenly uncomfortable.

"No… it's okay… That's enough questions for the day… why don't you try to get some rest." Kurenai said recovering herself and abandoning her struggle into Hinata's mind.

It was of course, a rather foolish position for the young girl. Kurenai was only her teacher, her mentor; what 's more, Kurenai's skill was something that generally exceeded the Hyuga girl. Hinata protecting her made little sense and Kurenai knew it. Perhaps, she thought, Hinata knew it to, and had only said this, uncomfortable with the intense questioning session, to throw Kurenai off. Kurenai doubted Hinata was the type to do so; no, those words were genuine. Kurenai had never known this girl held her in such high regard and in many ways it felt beautiful. She watched as Hinata Hyuga exited the room and felt as a tear trickled down her cheek.

A/N: So, yeah, this first chapter sets things up. I figured I'd use this long questioning session, to get the underlying psychological base of the pairing out here, it's likely quite dull, try not to judge the fic by this little bit. I'm also doing this whole competition thing. Before you draw comparisons to my Temari X Tenten fic, realize that that was an international grand tournament, and this a small scale thing, it's really all just there to give the story a sense of progression, and so I don't have to fill every chapter with dull dialog like this and can add some action instead. In terms of the Kurenai X Hinata stuff, hopefully you all already see where the relationship is coming from. It will be gradual but it will get heated eventually. So you know, this fic is post time-skip, but there really isn't a set time after the time-skip where I would place it, just use your imagination. Anyways, tell me what you think.


	2. Ripples of a New Love

A/N: Chapter 2 is here. Thank you to all of you people who reviewed glad everyone seems to like this one so far. I tried to kick things up a bit here with some action, so hopefully it's to everyone's liking. If not, then, well… sorry, I guess…

Disclaimer: The zombies ate my legal rights to Naruto…

Hinata Hyuga was a true prodigy whether she saw it or not. Having all the gifts of the Hyuga, this girl was one who had true and complete potential for greatness. Kurenai Yuhi supposed that maybe she was in fact a poor choice in teaching this girl; she was no gifted instructor, sure in terms of talents, Kurenai had her own areas of genius, but in making Hinata the shinobi she should be Kurenai could only feel she was ill-suited to the task. Yet it was fate that destined she be made the child's sensei, an inescapable fate that like everything in Kurenai's life, she seemed powerless in front of.

Naruto didn't notice her, her father was harsh with her, Neji tried his best to remain distant, her friends, while certainly supporting her, couldn't help but have their doubts as well. Kurenai knew this must be Hinata's reasoning. Even if it was, only through default that Hinata had come to see her as the one she loved most, Kurenai couldn't help but treasure that revelation. Hinata was someone she treasured as well, after all, and in a time when feelings of deep despair and heartache plagued the jounin woman knowing that there were still those who loved her reflected warmly in her heart.

Hinata's training had progressed slightly since the beginning of the week and Kurenai's first prying session of questioning. Since then Kurenai had continued with the same methods; each day she tried to be more intense and thorough as she tried to install a sense of self-assurance in the young kunoichi, something that she should have figured from the start as Hinata's sensei, was impossible. Still perhaps in Hinata's perceptions she had found a way to maybe unlock Hinata's potential.

"Hinata, I want to try something different today." Kurenai started as Hinata joined her at their usual training room on the final day before the competition.

"What's that, sensei?" Hinata asked with a sweet smile.

"I'd like to do your mental training before your physical training today." Kurenai said with a kind glance.

"O-oh… alright…" Hinata replied distantly; it was no surprise that Hinata disliked having to answer intense personal questions.

"Then let's start… Hinata, what would you say love is?" Kurenai asked with a smirk.

"L-love!?... I-I well, it's to really… to really admire someone… for their strength, their beauty, their kindness... it's to hold that person close to your heart and always protect them…" Hinata said in a usual shy tone.

"Tell me, who do you love?" Kurenai gave her next question.

"N-Naruto… a-and father, and Neji, and Hanabi, and Kiba, and Shino, and all my other important friends…" Hinata spoke in a soft manner.

"And me?" Kurenai said playing off the girl's shyness.

"Yes, you're the one most precious to me…" Hinata reaffirmed her earlier statement.

"Yes, you said that before, but why is that?" Kurenai asked intently.

"Well, y-you've never once doubted me… or told me… I wasn't good enough. You really care about me… and you are the most kind and beautiful person I've ever known." Hinata answered in heavy blush.

"Do you think the ones you love, realize your love and love you back?" Kurenai said trying to veil away the happiness of being admired and lavished with compliments.

"Of course… all my friends care deeply about me… s-so do father and Neji, even if they haven't always shown it in the past. A-and even if Naruto doesn't know the depth of what I feel for him, I know he still sees me as a trusted friend." Hinata made her statement.

"And what about me? Do I love you?" Kurenai spoke in a cool tone.

"I, well… I-I think so. You're so kind to me. You always believe in me…" Hinata concluded meekly.

"And, what if that kindness is an illusion? What if I don't love you, but rather have disliked you from the beginning? What if everything you perceive as kindness is really just the repressed scorn I feel at having someone so completely useless in my presence?" Kurenai spoke in a forceful biting tone.

"I-I… that's not true… you can't…" Hinata started, frightened.

"You don't know that, I could for all you know, despise you, only let on a kind act since I've been stuck with you in my team. Isn't one of the first things they teach you as shinobi that things aren't always as they appear?" The older woman said with a cold sigh.

"Yes… b-but i-it isn't true… y-you love me…" Hinata struggled to find any confidence.

"Hmm, well let's see about that. Hinata, I want to move on to the physical portion of your training now." Kurenai stated suddenly at the still shaking girl.

"O-okay…" Hinata muttered mutedly with a soft nod.

"For this exercise, your objective is to best me in one-on-one combat through any means necessary…" Kurenai said giving another cool smirk.

"W-what?! I can't fight you, sensei." Hinata protested.

"You are able to use any means at your disposal. I suggest you don't hold back; strike with intent to kill, if you plan on keeping up." Kurenai said informatively.

"B-but... I... well... a-alright…" Hinata acquiesced sheepishly, showing clear signs that she wasn't happy with this.

"Come, then show me what you got." Kurenai said in a taunting way as she signaled her student to start.

Hinata raced forward, closing the gap between her and her sensei. Soon the young Hyuga was unleashing a torrent of strikes, all of which seemed lacking and reserved, and none of which came close to their supposed mark. Kurenai had expected this would happen. She needed to push Hinata if she ever was going to take this seriously. Kurenai gave a sign performing a genjutsu and soon there were three copies of her. The images of Kurenai slowly began to circle around the girl rapidly unleashing bursts of kunai at disjointed and desperate intervals. Hinata quickly called on the power of her Byakugan as she began to block against the ensuing firings of blades with a quick, well-executed palm rotation technique. Kurenai was waiting for this; as soon as the girl's spin came to a stop, Kurenai made her move. She let her image clones vanish as she found her way into Hinata's blind spot. With a swift but precise kick, Kurenai sent Hinata to the floor in pain.

"Do you see Hinata? You can't hold back in battle. Even if all you do is defend, your defense isn't going to last forever. You have to be able to defeat your opponent to win." Kurenai said instructively.

"B-but. I don't want to hurt you." Hinata said as she got to her feet.

"Does someone ever really want to hurt someone else? As a ninja, you have a position where causing pain to others is inevitable. That can't stop you from fighting. To stand up for what's right, you sometimes have to endure causing others pain." Kurenai answered in a somewhat consoling tone.

"I-I understand that… It's just that… this is just practice… I don't want to cause you any pain, sensei. I don't see why I should have to hurt you." Hinata gave in a soft tone.

"You have to hurt me, because if you don't I will hurt you." Kurenai replied with a cruel smile as she suddenly threw a shuriken at rapid speed toward her student.

Hinata deflected the blade effortlessly with a short burst of chakra from her hand. Kurenai knew this girl still wasn't satisfied, that Hinata would sooner endure the pain herself then hurt someone she cared about, but hopefully she could at least prove her worth in battle here. Kurenai gave a fierce strike in the young girl's direction. Kurenai wasn't particularly skilled at taijutsu, but it would be one of the easier ways to elicit action from Hinata.

Hinata caught the fist in her palm and proceeded to connect a blow with her other palm to Kurenai's shoulder. The jounin, was surprised as she found her way out of the younger girl's grip, Hinata really was willing to hit her, this was far beyond what she was expecting of this exercise. Hinata now proceeded to go on the offensive; striking near incessantly, the Byakugan user's palms radiated with chakra as she lashed at her target relentlessly. Some of the strikes were so swift and accurate that Kurenai had great difficulty avoiding them. The older kunoichi wondered if she had made a serious mistake engaging this girl directly in taijutsu. She couldn't win this fight with just physical strength, as when not holding back Hinata Hyuga far exceeded her in that particular category.

Soon, Hinata's attacks became so fierce, consistent, and quick, that they proved impossible to avoid as the young girl proceeded to corner her sensei against a wall. Taking several hits, Kurenai felt hard pains in her body, though she noticed that Hinata was being extremely careful to not hit her anywhere vital. Kurenai couldn't take any more of this or she would likely feint from the pain inside her, determined to end this, Kurenai gave a ninja sign just as Hinata was about to unleash what certainly would be the last blow Kurenai could take. Hinata watched as Kurenai seemed to vanish into a wind leaving nothing behind. Familiar with this trick, Hinata examined her field carefully, and quickly caught sight of her sensei in the corner of the enclosed area with the Byakugan. Kurenai gave another hand sign and soon, Hinata felt as a deformed hand tugged sharply at her leg. Hinata, struggled to free herself from the illusion, but in the process lost sight of her target. Turning to face the opposite end of the room, Hinata was surprised to find something else grab hold of her. Kurenai seemed to come out of the wall, grabbing Hinata by the collar of her jacket and pulling her in closely into a deep hold. With her other hand she held a kunai to the girl. Hinata gave a whimper and then fell to her knees, acquiescing that she had lost the fight.

"I-I'm sorry… I should have done better." Hinata started up somberly.

"It's alright, Hinata. I never expected you to honestly beat me... If you could do that, you'd already be a Jounin." Kurenai said with a loving smile though her body still ached in the inside.

"I'm glad then... I didn't want to hurt you any more..." Hinata said showing her own smile.

"You did excellent by the way... You showed perfect skill and focus. I'd say you're in perfect form to fight tomorrow." Kurenai said proudly but with forced breaths.

"Then I'll be sure to do my best." Hinata chimed back in a cheerful tone at hearing her sensei's praise.

"I am a little curious as to what made you decide to go for it and fight me for real. I honestly saw this fight going a lot differently then it did..." The girl's sensei spoke in a cool tone.

"O-oh... w-well... I really didn't want to hurt you, b-but... b-but if I didn't try, I knew that then I would really disappoint you sensei..." Hinata managed to say through a shy front.

"That's sweet. I suppose there really is no changing that you get your strength from the ones you love. You may face disappointment with that approach, but in the end it might just make you stronger than anyone." Kurenai said conclusively, in many ways admitting her entire training strategy had been flawed.

"I won't let myself disappoint those who have faith in me, that's why for them, and especially for you Kurenai-sensei, I will do my best to make everyone proud... to make you proud tomorrow." Hinata now gave a full smile that reflected the depth of her heart.

"I'm glad..." Kurenai said with a simple nod.

Kurenai Yuhi didn't know what to do next, she could feel the tears well up once more in her, though she fought them off. Her aching muscles were crying for her to go get some rest, yet this girl was so inspiring and amazing that she just wanted to stay in her presence a few moments longer. In her face she could forget the painful memories of the past. In those clear, beautiful white eyes she could see only the joy, the warmth she had experienced over the years. Kurenai had always loved Hinata. Now with this subdued feeling in her body and mind, and these pure words of devotion, admiration, and love ringing still in her heart, Kurenai was feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was then that she realized the nature of her love for Hinata might be beginning to change.

A/N: Chapter two. More talk, some brief action, then some blossoming romantics: this chap was mostly just a progression chapter, necessary but far from special. Still it should hopefully satiate you for a while till I get chapter three out. An interesting thing about this fic for me, is that I chose it to be Kurenai-centric. I wanted to portray this one from the more mature characters perspective, since I felt I could get more depth that way. If I did it Hinata perspective, I think I would have harder getting the relationship past the idol admiration stage. I also wasn't completely happy with the relationship component of my Sakura X Tsunade fic (similar pairing structure), and since that one was more centered on Sakura, the student's, feelings, I figured I 'd see how it turns out when focused on the mentor's feelings. So far I'm happy, though I think this fic will only get better. Hopefully you guy's liked it. Keep reading and I'll make sure to keep writing more and more.


	3. A Burning Intensity

A/N: Here is chapter three. This one shifts the focus a little from the Kurenai X Hinata bits in favor of setup for this competition thing I've been talking about. Hopefully this isn't off-putting, and hopefully neither is this chapters length. I hope everyone enjoys.

Disclaimer: I'm sure that in one of the infinite alternate dimensions out there I actually do own Naruto. I don't here, however, so yeah…

It was a simple sentiment, really. Hinata had sworn to protect her always, and on top of that cherished her words at more worth than her own right thoughts. It was devotion at it's purest; this was love. But what exactly was love? Kurenai thought she knew; she thought she could still see the shadow of love in her past. How was this any different from that? Part of Kurenai Yuhi's mind resented thoughts like this; surely there was a difference between love in the romantic sense and this unending devotion Hinata seemed to exude in her favor. Hinata was a child and a female child nonetheless; she had been given responsibility over this girl by the girl's father and was to act as a mentor to the girl. Why, then, would she betray this responsibility, her own judgment, and everything she thought she knew about herself in order to think this way?

As much as Kurenai questioned her sentiments, she couldn't ignore them. Kurenai was a skilled shinobi; she was regarded quite reverently as one of the most talented and beautiful kunoichi to ever emerge from Konoha, an image that the usually modest Kurenai was one to flaunt. Now Hinata had emerged to be perhaps even more talented and beautiful then her; Hinata was blessed with the innate ability of her father's clan and though she tried to hide it, Kurenai knew fairly well Hinata had blossomed into what was a truly beautiful young woman. Maybe this was just pride then; just an older woman taking pride in the development of her most treasured apprentice. Kurenai could tell herself this but she couldn't convince herself it was true. There was something so pure and perfect about Hinata that was just so enticing that it sent shivers down Kurenai's frame; Kurenai knew that this battle against herself might be a losing fight.

It was now the day of the competition. Kurenai had been training her precious student for weeks now and knew that both of them were now well prepared for this moment. Even if her training session had done more to unearth fragilities in her own mental state than it had to cure the Hyuga girl of her own, Kurenai felt confident, as she and the girl walked toward the battle sight, that Hinata would be successful.

"So, Hinata you ready to win?" Kurenai said as the two walked, hoping to clear the other of any lingering doubts.

"W-well, I don't know about t-that…" Hinata said meekly with averted eyes.

"Hmm, your clan's the best in the whole village at this thing. As I see it you got this thing won already." Kurenai replied proudly.

"B-but I'm not suited for competition… I don't know if I'll be able to…" Hinata mumbled disjointedly.

"Nonsense. You'll do fine. You need to just remember the lessons I taught you the last couple of weeks." Kurenai asserted coolly.

"You mean to adjust the angle of my swift strikes by half a degree so that I ensure the greatest radius of impact for my palm." Hinata said with a smile as she recalled one of the few critiques Kurenai had given her physical form.

"Well… yeah… remember that… but also remember what we talked about as well…" Kurenai said with an oddly satisfied smirk.

"Oh… so, I should remember that… if I don't do well it will disappoint you…" Hinata said in a wisp like manner.

"S-sure.. I guess…" Kurenai said with a total lack of certainty; she supposed this had been the final conclusion of their training whether it was the desired one or not.

"So if I don't succeed sensei, will I be punished?" Hinata said lightly in an almost joking manner.

"Most likely not… but if you do well today you might get rewarded." Kurenai answered in an equally light tone.

"R-really… Hmm, I wonder what I'd get…" Hinata said in a somewhat cheerful way.

"You'll just have to wait and see…" Kurenai said still smiling as the two of them entered the building where the competition would take place and took their place in a line.

"So are you here today for the Konoha Taijutsu Competition, Kunoichi Division?" A young girl working as a clerk at a desk said as Hinata's turn in the line came up.

"Umm, Yeah… I-I am." Hinata asserted shyly.

"Well, then just sign here with your name and shinobi identification number and follow the designated path to competition area. The competition will take place over the course of today and tomorrow. Further competition details will be given out by an official prior to the start. Good Luck." The girl said very quickly in a professional manner to Hinata before sending her on her way.

"It seems like audience members go in here, Hinata. I wish I could accompany you further, but… I wish you luck." Kurenai said contently as she prepared to part ways with the girl.

"I'll do my best to not disappoint you, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata nodded lovingly before heading off with other competitors while Kurenai went on her own way.

An hour or so after Kurenai had found her seat in the large competition room's audience section, the sign up phase was designated as having ended and the doors were closed. Kurenai examined the vast wealth of young kunoichi; there were so many competitors and so few familiar faces. Kurenai was unaware that the village even had this many kunoichi in Hinata's relative age group. Despite this on the personal level, the number of faces was a bare minimum. Kurenai had anticipated that maybe Tenten, the Kunoichi from Neji's group, or Sakura, the Kunoichi form Naruto's group, might catch wind of the competition and attend, yet this was not the case. Kurenai surmised that most Kunoichi here today were the ones who really did have something desperate to prove not the established young hopes of the village. Kurenai didn't know whether this would serve to help or hinder her young apprentice.

"Alright everyone, I'm Aoba Yamashiro, the designated official appointed by the Hokage in charge of overseeing this event today. Allow me to explain the rules... This competition has two phases: the selection phase and the tournament phase. The first phase... the selection phase will allow us to select eight truly gifted shinobi form the 33 qualified competitors we have gathered here. This phase will consist of a series of three tests to your physical abilities, destructive power, and endurance, the results of which are to be judged by a skilled panel of judges. The eight competitors receiving the highest overall scores form these judges will return tomorrow for the tournament phase: a basic fighting tournament to determine who best deserves the competitions prize, a generous cash award, and favored status as a Konoha shinobi." The jounin Yamashiro said loudly over a speaker; it was hard to tell if the excitement in his voice was forced.

Kurenai knew than that Hinata would excel that day. She wouldn't have to fight an actual opponent until the next day. Kurenai was unaware of the details of something like this, as they are always changing form event to event, but this seemed to take a little weight of her shoulders as she sat back and watched the first girl run through the physical ability test. This test seemed to be purposed at testing both the kunoichi's form as well as her speed and flexibility. It was essentially a free form obstacle course. Kurenai knew that this test would be timed and figured that the targets that had to be hit along the course had censors in them that could read the magnitude of the kunoichi's strength and accuracy.

Seven girls went through the track before Hinata, all with what Kurenai saw as being varying degrees of success (ranging from near perfect runs to complete disasters). Hinata had a look of shear determination as her name was called. Before long she was racing at top speed through the track making use of some intense footwork as she avoided numerous obstacles and landed perfect strikes on the rapidly approaching targets. As she watched Hinata do a charging spin attack consecutively hitting two moving targets while racing along and avoiding a series of obstacles at her feet and flying kunai all around her as if it were nothing, Kurenai couldn't help but be amazed with the very pupil she had mentored. She wasn't alone, as when Hinata finished her seamless run the crowd erupted with applause.

The remaining 25 girl's proceeded to complete the first test before the second was prepared. The second seemed a more simplified target test. This time the girl's were given one minute to inflict as much damage on a stationary human sized target as possible. This test was deigned to push the limits of the taijutsu technique. It was to show the true destructive power that each girl was capable of. Kurenai gave a sigh as she watched the first girl struggle helplessly to break apart the figure with a series of random punches and kicks before her time ran out and she was forced to stop. The second girl fared far better as she effortlessly sliced her target to pieces with a skillful knife technique. Soon it was Hinata's turn and as Kurenai figured, Hinata met this challenge with intensity and drive equal to the first. She proceeded to launch her palms at the figure with such ferocity, the chakra seemed to pour from her fingertips as she decimated the target with her bare hands with time left over.

The final test seemed somewhat twisted to Kurenai. The kunoichi was placed in a small mechanical cage that periodically shot kunai from it's walls at increasing intervals of speed. The ninja was to deflect and avoid as many of these ensuing blades as possible without being hit. This would show how well the shinobi could endure in battle. The first girl lasted six minutes before being hit and the second lasted twelve. A few girl's struggled to last an entire minute. When it was Hinata's turn, Kurenai made herself comfortable as she knew that this would last a while. Not failing her expectations, Hinata proceeded to strike each kunai out of the air flawlessly as if it was nothing. Nearly twenty minutes later Hinata found herself unable to keep up as on this now near rapid setting with her waning energy she failed to avoid a couple knifes approaching in her Byakugan's blind spot and suffered some wounds to her right shoulder. Her test was stopped to further cheers as she was treated with the other girls. All in all only three girls lasted longer than Hinata.

After some time for deliberation on the results the judges came up with the rankings and of the girls. The data for the top eight girls were given to Aoba who read them aloud.

"Alright. Let's see… In this phase our highest score belongs to Kusuriko Kenkyakukuse, age 19, Chunin, scores 9.7, 9.6, 9.7. Total score 9.7. Second rank goes to Marise Kaizoku, age 24, Chunin, scores 9.8, 9.7, 9.2 Total score 9.6. Third ranking is Hinata Hyuga, age 16, Chunin, scores 9.5, 9.8, 9.3. Total 9.5. Fourth is Nyoko Hyoryusha, age 13, Genin, Scores 7.4, 10.0, 9.5. Total 9.1. Fifth is Oki Kodoku, age 21, Jounin, scores 8.4, 8.7, 9.9. Score 9.0. In sixth, we have Umeko Yamisune, age 17, Genin, scores 8.6, 9.6, 7.6. Total 8.6. Seventh is Shinobu Sougu, age 18. Chunin. Scores 8.5, 8.5, 85. Total score 8.5. And then in the final slot Muteki Kyuuketsuki, age 15.Genin. Scores: 8.7, 6.3, 9.1. Total 8.2. Those eight step forward. The rest of you may see your evaluation posted as you exit." Aoba Yamashiro read the sores in an indifferent manner. Hinata and the other seven soon made their way to the front of the room, while the other 25 left the room with looks of disappointment.

"Alright, I'm going to give you the details of the tournament tomorrow now." Yamashiro said as soon as the eight were the only kunoichi left on the floor.

"Yeah! I can't wait! This is so much fun!" The young girl, Nyoko bursted out in an over-excited tone.

"Yes… please be calm. This tournament will be conducted in a traditional style. There will be four initial matches, the winners of which will compete in the two semifinal matches. The winners of those matches will compete in the final fight for the prize." Aoba continued in a cool manner.

"So, there rules to these fights we got here…" The woman addressed as Marise said in a harsh voice.

"There are no restrictons or limitations to these fights. You are allowed to bring whatever weapons or tools you so desire." The official clarified.

"Are we strictly limited to taijutsu, or can we use genjutsu and ninjutsu as well?" Umeko Yamisune said in a soft voice.

"For this phase of the competition, it is imperative you defeat the opponent by any means necessary. That being said this competition is designed to pick out those who have advanced skill at taijutsu, so it is preferred you do so. Still, nothing is off limits." Aoba replied dutifully.

"So we are allowed to kill then…" The girl Muteki asserted in a wispy voice.

"Again it's really best if you avoid that, but your opponent's death will not penalize you in the end results." Aoba said a little taken aback by the young girl's question.

"What are the match-ups for tomorrow then?" Shinobu said in a simple, slightly nervous way.

"Right… Match 1 will be Shinobu Sougu vs. Marise Kaizoku. Match 2 will be Hinata Hyuga vs. Oki Kodoku. Match 3 will be Nyoko Hyoryusha vs. Muteki Kyuuketsuki. Match 4 will be Kusuriko Kenkyakukuse vs. Umeko Yamisune." Yamashiro read the groupings to the kunoichi.

"Yay! I got it easy, I'm paired to the eight seed." Nyoko called out failing to restrain her intense excitement.

"Is that what you think…? Hmm… amusing." Muteki said with an arrogant laugh.

"I-I have to go first. I don't know… this is all so much pressure." Shinobu said shaking slightly.

"Thinkin' like that'll get ya killed goin' against me." Marise spoke roughly in a way that put obvious fear in the other girl's heart.

"I suppose I will have to unleash everything I have if I hope to defeat the top contender." Umeko said to herself in a whisper.

"Please don't fear, my blade is swift but it is honorable. I look forward to our match and wish you luck." Kusuriko said in a light, serious way that gave her a noble quality.

Hinata turned to look at her opponent who had kept thus far quiet. The jounin Oki leaned against a nearby wall. It was hard to tell if she was even awake as her messy black hair hid both her eyes from sight. She dressed roughly, her clothes seemed less practical, and more just thrown together at random. From Kurenai's prospective, the only thing really memorable about Oki from the tests was her incredible ability to block kunai in the final test. She seemed to have had impossibly perfect reflexes and unlimited stamina.

Aoba dismissed the girls and the group exited still chatting amongst themselves.

"You are of the honored Hyuga clan are you not, miss." Kusuriko's overly serious voice became the first to actually travel Hinata's way.

"Uhh… Y-yeah. I am." Hinata said nodding.

"I hope very much to get a chance to spar with you. I've studied the Hyuga technique and would like nothing more than an opportunity to cross blades with an honored member of such a clan. It is unfortunate that with the way things are set we would not be able to meet until the finals. I really do wish you the best." The girl responded enthusiastically clenching the katana at her side as she flashed a quaint smile.

"The Hyuga gals' gotta get by me first if she's gonna make it that far... But don't worry too much, I may not be some highborn trash, but I'm about as good as ya can get on your own. I'd be sure to give ya a good fight." Marise broke into the conversation gloatingly. Her harsh tone and wild looks, were a tad off-putting but she looked as if maybe she actually did have something to prove.

"In that case, whomever I fight, be it Miss Hyuga or Miss Kaizoku. I'm sure it will be a most entertaining bout. I look forward to it very much." Kusuriko returned in comment.

"I think the lady with the shiny sword is being mean. I mean, I'm a good ninja. But she thinks she's going to the finals without even considering our match... That makes me sad." The lithe youngster Nyoko started in a confused, semi angry, mostly energetic voice.

"I'm sorry Miss Hyoryusha. You do seem a worth opponent. I'm sure all my opponents in this tournament will be quite worthy." Kenkyakukuse said in a polite and apologetic way.

"So which one of you is the one I fight…" Oki said with a daunting yawn, as she finally seemed to exit her sleep like daze.

"Uh, you're schedule to fight Hinata here... what you didn't realize that?" Umeko said surprised.

"Oh, cool…thanks…" Oki responded drearily in a bored tone. That made her difficult to size up.

"Well then, may each of us be blessed by the spirits of the great warriors as we unsheathe our blades in search of glory." Kusuriko injected in her normal elegant way.

"God, you sound stupid…" Oki coughed rudely as she walked off on her own.

"Sure, let's give it our all." Umeko said with a determined but uneasy smile before leaving as well.

"Yeah! Everyone, this'll be so much fun!" Nyoko chimed with exuberantly hyper motions before following suit.

"Ummm... I hope we all do our best tomorrow too..." Shinobu managed to say in an unnerved way before running off.

"Ha... What useless sentiments... no matter how hard you struggle in the end there will be only one victor..." Muteki said in a low brooding tone before slinking away.

"How true. Only one of us 'll stand at the end. And I'll be makin' sure thats me." Marise flashed a smile full of confidence before making her own exit.

"I-I guess I'm gonna go too... See you tomorrow then, K-Kusuriko." Hinata said steadily leaving the polite swordswoman to her own in order to search out her sensei.

It wasn't long before Kurenai had reunited with her young student. Kurenai knew she and Hinata had a lot to talk about. In fact she couldn't hide her enthusiasm as she turned to face Hinata.

"So, Hinata, how was it?" Kurenai started with a simple question though a proud smile was already beginning on her lips.

"I-I'm sorry sensei... I hope you are not disappointed in me..." Hinata asserted in a shaky tone.

"What? Why on earth would I be disappointed in you Hinata, you did wonderfully." Kurenai responded protectively.

"Kusuriko and Marise both scored higher than me... I tried my hardest... b-but I still wasn't the best... I wanted to be the best for you." Hinata said, pouting.

"Hinata. Of course I'm not disappointed. Considering the upper age cap for the competition was 25 and there were no restrictions on ninja rank, I honestly hadn't expected you to rank first in the first place. In fact you did better than I would have imagined."Kurenai said kindly through a maternal smile.

"But.. s-still. I wanted to be the best... I-I guess I-I'll just have to win tomorrow." Hinata said with a fierceness in her eyes.

"That's the right attitude" Kurenai flashed a loving smile at the cute young girl.

It really made Kurenai's heart light to hear her precious one speak like this. Hinata was never this driven, never this focused on a single goal. What made it especially odd was that obtaining this goal involved a great deal of violence, danger, and struggle. Hinata had spent some time in the company of her adversaries and likely knew very much what she was up against. Tomorrow she would be forced into battle with these people, she would be forced to cause them harm. Yet, knowing this, this girl would go into this with her eyes burning intently, all for the purpose of pleasing Kurenai. With this Kurenai perhaps realized that there was no denying how this girl made her feel inside, and maybe with the intensity of the feeling in Hinata's eye and in her smile, perhaps there was no denying that Hinata felt the same things.

A/N: As I said before, this chapter isn't too Kurenai X Hinata centric. I apologize for this. In truth I actually went back and elaborated on the first two paragraphs once I saw that the KureHina contact was so limited here. Instead of my usual light dialog heavy fares this was very blocky paragraph stuff, I hope this didn't make things too difficult to follow. I was glad I had decided on making this more Kurenai centered in perspective, as it would have been a lot more difficult to write out Hinata's thoughts and descriptives on every test as opposed to just the view of an onlooker. Also, I don't know why I decided to bog this fic down with seven OC's. I'm not a real fans of OC's and usually I like to keep their numbers to a minimum. However, I was so disorganized and dislodged going into this chapter that I couldn't come up with a good idea for a single dominant OC, so I just went with a whole bunch of static stock characters, that were pretty much generated in my mind at random (the names were selected at relative random from lists of Japanese names and words and stuff as well) that I can use how I want in the tournament (I actually haven't completely decide on how the tournament is going to play out, though hopefully my characterizations gave you some idea of where things were going). I suppose in the end most of them will fade into an infinite hole of unimportance, but, eh I can probably get a few good fights out of this in chapter five. I suppose in the end, I could have split this super-long chap into 2. Though, I think a lot of my readers might be disappointed if there was no "action" as of chapter four. Now with all this condensed into 1 chapter, I can fill chapter four with hot Kurenai X Hinata lovemaking and stuff of a romantic nature and all. So, tell me what you think. I'd greatly appreciate, knowing how I'm doing, and hopefully you'll continue to read.


	4. Sacred Love and a Smile's Reflection

A/N: Here is chapter 4, the pivotal Kurenai X Hinata chapter. This chapter contains a somewhat graphic account of a woman in her thirties having lesbian sex with a sixteen-year-old girl. If this is not something you want to read then I suggest you skip over whatever makes you uncomfortable, either that or simply turn around now. With that said, let the hotness begin.

Disclaimer: The square root of 289 is 17 (… and I do not own Naruto).

Love: What was it? Why did it happen? Kurenai Yuhi found herself pondering such girlish questions. She was over thirty years old and in her mind's view had already fully experienced the cycle of emotions associated with true love, yet she found that at this moment the answers to these questions eluded her. She had to come to terms with it: for some reason she had come to have fallen in love with someone new. She had fallen in love with Hinata. She had fallen in love with her precious, beautiful student.

These feelings betrayed her. How could she be so ready to love someone again? More importantly how could she love Hinata? Wasn't it wrong for her to feel this way towards a woman, especially one so young, who had put her trust entirely in her hands. It was true that prior to this Kurenai had never thought about women, save for a few brief fantasies, but it was the other part of this equation that for some reason made Kurenai's heart beat uncontrollably in the girl's presence. How could she betray Hinata's trust? How could she have such feelings for someone who thought so highly of her?

Now Hinata looked even more beautiful. A fire burned inside her as she faced forward determined to not betray that same bond of trust that Kurenai believed herself to be encroaching on. Ranking third in the qualifying round of this local taijutsu competition, it was clear that Hinata had a burning intensity inside her that thrived on the notion of making Kurenai proud. Kurenai had always thought what Hinata had needed to be a truly great shinobi was inner strength and a sense of self-confidence and self-reliance. This notion seemed ridiculous now; what it seemed Hinata needed instead was focus, drive, a clear defined reason to fight; what Hinata needed was someone to fight for, and for some reason, that had become Kurenai.

"Seeing you succeed today made me happy." Kurenai said with a beaming smile as her and Hinata settled down, returning to Kurenai's place from the competition grounds.

"I'm happy…" Hinata said softly with a blush.

"You know even if for whatever reason you're score was a fraction of a point less than some people, I still thought you were the best." Kurenai gave in a cool tone as she stared at the usually fragile girl, who today had a different, stronger air about her.

"Y-you're just saying that because you love me…" Hinata flashed her cute smile at her sensei that seemed to mask the accusatory tone.

"Maybe, but then again you must have heard how the crowd seemed to react to you... I don't think that Kusuriko girl got that kind of reaction even if she was near flawless." Kurenai spoke comfortingly.

"You're right. As long as there are people out there supporting me, I know I can be the best, that I can fight my hardest and win." Hianta said showing that fire of the day once more.

"And I'll always be the one to support you the most." Kurenai said sweetly in an almost romantic way; she blushed upon hearing the tone of her own words.

"T-thank you, sensei…" Hinata managed awkwardly, the diversion in her eyes made Kurenai wonder if she was now scaring the girl.

"Hinata, you're first fight tomorrow… are you worried about it?" Kurenai asked, trying to break the awkward, tense air between them.

"A l-little… My opponent is older than me and a higher rank. I want to succeed for you and everyone else, but I don't know if I can… even if I did score higher than her in the first round." Hinata said meekly, a latent but by no means foreign fear creeping into her voice.

"Yes, she was one of only four jounin who actually bothered to enter the competition and surprisingly the only one to make it to the second round... I think most people of that rank are either too busy or are of the notion that things like this are geared more to the younger shinobi… But I wouldn't hinge your thoughts of victory just on the fact that she's a jounin." Kurenai said in an informative tone she often took with her student.

"I know… I won't give up, sensei." Hinata said showing a mixture of fear, devotion, and determination.

"Oki Kodoku has only been a jounin a year now. She is a master of taijutsu, though her true specialty is her eyes. Not unlike your Byakugan, Oki's eyes give her ultra-perception of her surrounding area, but don't worry her eyes don't have the field of vision or the certain special properties of yours. Still her heightened awareness and her innate incredible reflexes make her near impossible to hit." Kurenai continued in a serious manner.

"But then… what if I can't hit her… I won't be able to win…" Hinata said with a sad, scared expression.

"Don't worry too much Hinata. Even with her eyes and reflexes, you have the Byakugan, you can see more than the best normal eyes ever could. I'm sure if anyone can defeat Oki Kodoku it's you." Kurenai said lightening her tone as she began to stroke the cute girl's soft face lovingly.

"I-I hope so… b-but sensei, i-isn't it a little unfair if you tell me all this stuff about my opponent like that… I mean…" Hinata gave a vulnerable sigh as she spoke disjointedly.

"Don't worry Hinata. I'm sure everyone's trying to do as much research as possible tonight. Unfortunately, for you, with your name everyone already knows what you can do… besides it's important to me that I help you with this as much as possible." Kurenai said sweetly.

"Thank you, sensei…" Hinata said flashing another sacred smile.

"It's a shame I don't know much about your other potential opponents. It's a lot harder to keep track of all the genin and chunin of this village… Kusuriko Kenkyakukuse belongs to a rather prominent school of sword based fighting and is considered to be a genius with her blade, the rest unfortunately I have nothing for." Kurenai tried her hardest to recall anything that would help the one she loved.

"That's alright sensei. I'm sure I'll be able to adjust to anything…" Hinata replied forgivingly; she seemed to radiate a certain loveliness in her smile that made Kurenai want to touch her some more.

"I'm glad to hear it." Hinata's sensei spoke softly.

"Oh and… sensei… I was wondering… didn't you say something about a reward if I did well today…" Hinata started mischievously, the words fell lightly from her cute little mouth.

"I seem to recall saying something like that… but, Hinata it's only if you do well for the entire competition, you have to wait to see after tomorrow…" Kurenai said trying to cover for herself.

"Oh, s-so what are you going to give me, sensei? Or is it a surprise?" Hinata questioned curiously, the hint of excitement in her words made her beautiful eyes light up.

"Well, actually I don't know what it is yet…" Kurenai said trying to avert her eyes from the object of her desires.

"Oh so then you're going to let me choose something... that'd be fun." Hinata's smile widened. Kurenai found it harder still to refrain from being intoxicated by her student's glow.

"Umm, sure… I'd give you anything you'd ever want…" Kurenai let out in a longing suggestive manner wishing she could retract her words or at least their implications.

"Sensei, you're so kind… I'm very happy that I have someone so wonderful that I can put my trust in." Hinata spoke piercingly as if the Byakugan eye had let her see into the depths of Kurenai's embattled heart.

Kurenai paused for a moment. This girl talked of trust as Kurenai fought back every urge to force herself upon this girl. She was horrible; how could she have to struggle so impossibly hard against her sexual desire for a teenage girl, especially one who cared so much for her? This was beyond wrong, it was sick, it was twisted. Kurenai knew she couldn't contain herself; tears began to roll down her cheek.

"Sensei… W-what's wrong? D-did I do something wrong? Please, don't cry…" Hinata started in panic.

"No, it's not… it's not you, Hinata… you're perfect… it's me." Kurenai said trying to regain some sense of composure, though it seemed like a vain attempt.

"S-sensei, please tell me what it is… I, I don't want to see you like this…" Hinata said showing fear in her pearl white eyes.

"I have a confession I need to make… even though it will hurt you." Kurenai said stopping the flow of her tears, but now determined to establish at least some closure to her feelings.

"I don't think anything you'd do could ever really hurt me, sensei…" Hinata said smiling hopefully though fear lingered visibly in her eyes.

"I love you." Kurenai said with certainty though she clenched at her words frantically, leaving a length of pause after them.

"I-I know that… I love you too." Hinata replied with a weak smile that seemed a little shaken.

"No, Hinata I mean that… I love you." Kurenai said this time changing the inclination in the syllables so that there was little mistake in their meaning.

"Y-you don't mean… that y-you… like that… you like me... like that…" Hinata mumbled nervously now Kurenai's eyes were transfixed on hers.

"Yes, Hinata, I'm in love with you. I've become somehow romantically and physically interested in you… I'm finding more and more that I want you… and I'm sorry." Kurenai looked deep into the girl's eyes, it was hard to say these things, but fixated on this object of purity she found herself capable of speech.

"S-se-sensei… I-I… I-I…" Hinata tried to say something but nothing came out.

"You talk about trusting me, about fighting your best for my sake. But, for all that all I want is to… i-is to…" Kurenai now tripped on her words.

"I don't care." Hinata said showing strength as she continued to stare into her teacher's vulnerable eyes.

"But, Hinata… it's not something you can ignore… I'm really terrible… I've misled and misguided you just because it made me feel good to hear you speak so lovingly of me… And now I can hardly refrain from touching you in the face of that smile. You have every right to hate me." Kurenai said darkly, her heart now pounding in its place.

"No! Sensei you're not terrible. You're the most wonderful and beautiful person I've ever met. It's because of you and your guidance that I'm the strong shinobi I am today… I don't have any reason to hate you… i-in fact… I-I have every reason to really love you…" Hinata started her speech in a deeply defensive tone and finished with a subtle vulnerability.

"H-Hinata… I just…" Kurenai tried to form a rebuff but failed when her mouth was suddenly thrust against that of her young student.

Suddenly she was kissing Hinata. Somehow, in their intense focus as they had become lost in each other's eyes, their lips had silently come together. She could taste Hinata's lips. The subtle sweetness of her saliva, the warmth of her breath, the softness of the lips themself, the force at which the young girl mouth locked against her own. Suddenly she felt Hinata's tongue brush longingly against her own lips. It was surprising that Hinata was so eager to transform this beautiful kiss from something merely intimate too something raw and sexual just like that but Kurenai acquiesced excitedly meeting the tongue with her own. Their tongues danced at the meeting of their lips and inside either of their mouths, gently reveling in the others saliva. Soon Kurenai withdrew from Hinata satiating herself with one last lick across Hinata's tongue in open air as she pulled away leaving a string of fluid.

"H-Hinata… why did you… why did we…" Kurenai had a look of shock about her face as she tried to return to reality.

"I-If Kurenai-sensei wants to do something… I want to do it too." Hinata said forcefully, sensually licking her lips as if something in her had been awakened.

"Do you honestly mean that Hinata…" Kurenai said doubtfully.

"Yes, sensei… you can… no, I want you to do anything you… no, everything you want to me and I'll try my best to like it. No matter what happens I'll still love you… but now I'll be able to love you more…" Hinata responded with less stutters than Kurenai would have expected as she continued to wantingly re-imagine the kiss that had just taken place.

"B-but Hinata, we both know that this is wrong… we can't continue…' Kurenai said trying to deny how hot she was from making out with her cute student.

"I never knew kissing someone would make me feel like this… I don't know if I'd be able to take it i-if you didn't touch me now…" Hinata said blushing uncontrollably.

"Hinata… you can't talk like that... I won't be able to resist…" Kurenai said biting her lip and trying to look away from her student who now seemed have a new air of sexuality about her.

"Don't resist… Kurenai-sensei I want to know what real love is…" Hinata said closing in on Kurenai so that they were almost kissing again.

"Okay… I'll try to be gentle." Kurenai said softly, shaking, but desiring as she continued to enjoy the girl's lips once more as they subconsciously led one another to Kurenai's bedroom.

Kurenai was impressed by the force with which Hinata kissed her. Neither of them seemed to display any form of resistance as the exercise had slowly degenerated into a question of how much their tongues could touch one another. Kurenai felt her hands move as if on their own to the girl's subtle back and begin to rub their way hotly against the contours of the young girl's frame. She then felt as her partner seemed to mimic the action, caressing her own body along the back. Soon they were wrapped tightly in embrace; Kurenai could feel the heat of Hinata's chest against her own as they began to press against each other while still allowing their tongues to clash openly against one another.

Sensually, Kurenai then removed herself from the girl. Slowly, teasingly, she pulled off the girl's jacket and began to rub the soft flesh of her chest through the fabric of her shirt. Kurenai was amazed to see how she could feel Hinata's nipples become rock hard on her impressive breasts as she felt them through the fabric. Doubts were beginning to fade from the elder girl's mind as she withdrew her hands and hastily began to strip herself while instructing Hinata to do the same. Soon either girl was completely unclothed.

"I-I… sensei… you… you're so beautiful… I just have to…" Hinata couldn't finish her thought as she encroached and pushed her hand hotly and sharply to Kurenai's large beautiful breasts and began to rub them with an ecstatic tempo.

"You're beautiful too, Hinata... You have such a sexy body that is surely the envy of every girl your age..." The jounin replied in a sensual coo. Kurenai hadn't thought that Hinata would be so eager to touch her intimately, the sensation of her soft feminine hands across her flesh was wonderful though the thought of her young student doing something so inappropriate made her feel dirty, though this soon proved to only inflame her lust.

Kurenai placed her own hands to the young girl's soft chest as she pulled Hinata into another long hard kiss. Now they were embracing, the soft flesh of either kunoichi's chest grinding hotly against the other as they forced their hard nipples to burn against each other with as much friction as their tongues. Kurenai withdrew her mouth from Hinata's, licking lustfully at the line of Hinata's spit that trickled from her lips. The older woman then proceeded downward at a painfully slow pace, coating Hinata's cheek, neck and shoulder with saliva off her tongue before finding her way to the girl's chest. Hinata gave a cute coo that signified that she felt Kurenai's hot breath on her deeply excited nubs. Kurenai wrapped the girl's left nipple in her tongue drenching it with the wetness of her mouth as she massaged the surrounding wet flesh with her lips. With her right hand she cupped Hinata's right breast and squeezed playfully to elicit hot, deep moans of sexual bliss from her active party.

"You're real sensitive here, aren't you?" Kurenai said hotly pulling herself only about an inch from the thoroughly swollen flesh. Hinata gave no verbal reply, she just continued to moan ecstatically and with her left hand forced Kurenai's mouth to resume it's endeavor, while her right hand wandered hotly to rest between her legs. Kurenai looked on as Hinata began to attack her rapidly drenching sex with her hot fingers.

"Hinata... why don't you let me... take care of that." Kurenai gave her own moans as she watched her young student masturbate intensely right before her eyes. Hinata nodded and removed her hand, allowing Kurenai's hand to take it's place. Kurenai felt in awe at how deliciously wet her precious student was, she massaged the full of the girl's sex, applying delicate pressure to the girl's sensitive spots before jarring her fingers lustfully inside Hinata all the while never averting the attention of her mouth from the girl's chest which rapidly convulsed from the girl's hard breaths. Hinata was on the verge of howling through her moans though it was obvious she was trying desperately still to hold her cries in as her sensei's long, hot fingers continually pulsed hard inside her sex. Hinata's heart rate was rising rapidly, her body seemed to be controlled by lust as she gave continually heating moans; in response Kurenai bit down at the hard flesh of her nipple while pulsing her fingers deeper still into the young girl's tight slit with incredible force. The girl's muscles all seemed to convulse at once as she gave some ecstatic movements before spiraling into the most intense orgasm.

Kurenai removed herself from Hinata who relaxed herself on the bed briefly before sitting back up with a still hungry look in her eyes. Kurenai was shocked at what she had just experienced; intense wetness the level of which was likely higher than anything before this ran cleanly and clearly down her thighs. Hotly she began to suck Hinata's fluids off her coated fingers, making sure Hinata was watching.

"S-Sensei, p-please do it to me again... that was amazing. I need to feel you inside me again. Please..."Hinata said in a particularly wanting way; Kurenai was lost to her lust by this point but the thought of her usually gentle and sweet student cumming hard from Kurenai fingering her sex than turning around and begging for more still managed to confuse Kurenai.

Her confusion didn't stop her as she placed another kiss on the girl's lips before trailing down once more, this time only stopping briefly at the girl's chest before continuing past the her stomach down to her still twitching and burning crotch. She paused a moment to take in the site and smell of the shiny, wet, pink slit of the teenage girl before forcing it open with her fingers and inserting her tongue into it's depths. Hinata bucked and kicked from the new sensation of her sensei's warm tongue inside her trying it's best to collect all the resultant of Hinata's last intense climax. Hinata tasted so good; Kurenai could feel the girl's sex pulse and tighten around her tongue as she flailed it about vigorously. Kurenai's own sex was now in a state of deep desire; as if involuntarily Kurenai felt as her hand slid down her body cupping her breast slightly before reaching her private areas.

"Sensei... I want to touch... you..." Hinata cried out before Kurenai had even inserted a single finger inside herself, leaving Kurenai to wonder if she somehow knew what she was doing despite her pleasure and position. It felt wrong to want the girl she had once been a legal guardian to to touch her in a sexual way but that was what Kurenai wanted more than anything at the moment. Kurenai tilted herself onto the bed so that Hinata could access her sex clearly while she continued the endeavor with her tongue. Soon the young girl's slender fingers were pressuring the lips of her sex gently but hotly; Kurenai had to increase the tempo of her feverish licks in order to sustain herself.

Kurenai began to lick and suck at the girl's rapidly pulsing clit, while Hinata continued to move her sensei into better and better range of her fingers until Kurenai was directly on top of her. Something told Kurenai that this position was what Hinata wanted all along as she felt the much younger girl's strong tongue enter her sexual core. Kurenai tried to think about how wrong it was for her precious young student to be pleasuring her with her mouth, but the sensations of Hinata's technique made her only reactions ones of ultimate bliss. She returned her focus to the young girl's own sex spot, resuming her prior ferocity as she coated her lips with the warm fluid of the young Hyuga. Both girls let moans ring deep along their tongues into the other's core. Soon Hinata's licks became jarring, impossibly hot, Kurenai was on the verge of losing control of herself. Rapidly she forced several fingers into Hinata's tight, wet, sex-hole, as she sat up allowing Hinata perfect access to her own dripping hot sex. Kurenai's breasts bounced freely as she forcefully penetrated the girl with four of her fingers, all the while feeling the hot penetration of her own slit by the girl's amazing young tongue. It was only a matter of seconds before both women erupted in near-simultaneous, violent hard climaxes.

Kurenai couldn't move. That had just ranked up there with the most intense orgasms of her life. It was definitely the best she had had in years. She let her body fall relaxed against the bed and watched as Hinata crawled up next to her. They embraced softly for a moment before kissing each other gently, lustfully sharing each other's tastes despite being momentarily satisfied.

"I love you Kurenai-sensei." Hinata confessed cutely. Kurenai knew then that Hinata would be completely hers if she so desired it.

"I love you too, Hinata. More than you'll ever know..." Kurenai whispered lovingly before kissing the girl softly again and then pulling her into a warm, delicate embrace. Pleasant dreams soon captured the both of them.

A/N: Have I finally decided to actually write some longer chapters!?! It's two in a row now, man I wonder what's happened to me. I think this fic ids the first one in a while where I have been compelled to really just write until I can't write anymore. Anyways, not a lot to say here, that was probably one of my hottest scenes to date, I got really into it, hope you all agree. Next week will begin the more action oriented tournament chapters. Hope you all continue to enjoy.


	5. The New Love's Flame

A/N: Well all right, here we go with the fifth chapter of this thing. This chapter will mark the first couple of rounds of the competition among other things, so expect to be seeing a different kind of action from the last chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Vegetables are not made of popsicle (…? … I… uh, don't own Naruto…).

Kurenai Yuhi was in love. She had lost herself to that love, and in the line between love and lust, she had found her new reality. Where once she was as a mentor, a teacher a guardian, a sister, an admirer, a mother, an observer, a leader, and a friend, she was now something different, something more, a lover. Hinata Hyuga was now hers to hold and cherish; hers to protect, rely on, trust, and above all simply love.

The pact had been made in the form of their passionate night. Every kiss, every touch, every subtle movement had shown the depth of the true love that was shared. Kurenai could no longer deny the fact that she had had sex with her young teenage student, and it had been the most liberating experience in her life. As it was now, Hinata was her lover; as much as parts of her perhaps wished otherwise, she was in love with a teenage girl. Kurenai still told herself she was sick, she was wrong, but she could no longer deny the truth of her feelings, nor did she need to; Hinata was hers to have.

Morning soon came on the next day, the day in which Hinata would fight for the sake of her precious love, fight to make her lover proud. Kurenai awoke from her restless sleep, still intertwined in the soft embrace of the beautiful Hyuga child. She gazed endlessly at the girl's face and quickly at her naked form before gently waking the girl with a whisper.

"Hinata. You should get up, today's a big day for you…" Kurenai called softly placing her hand lightly at the girl's soft cheek.

"Good morning, sensei…" Hinata gave in a yawn as she sat up and opened her eyes. She gave an unprepared reactionary gasp as she took in the still naked bodies of Kurenai and herself but as she seemingly recalled the prior night's events, her profuse blush transformed into a radiant smile as she bent in to plant a soft kiss on Kurenai's lips.

"Thank you, Hinata… but we don't have a lot of time. We need to make sure you're prepared for the tournament today." Kurenai said containing herself; Hinata's kiss both confirmed that this wasn't a crazy dream and that the young girl still wanted her.

"Alright let's prepare for today then, Sensei." Hinata replied lovingly getting to her feet.

The two women proceeded to clean and dress themselves, eat breakfast and such before sitting down to talk again. Kurenai had actually given them ample time that morning giving them time to sort things out.

"Hinata, there are some things I want to ask you." Kurenai said to start the conversation.

"Oh, is it something about the tournament?" Hinata asked inquisitively.

"No, it's about… us. I mean I'm not sure I understand it all." Kurenai clarified reluctantly.

"Well… I uh, I… mean… we are… that is… I am your girlfriend now, right?" Hinata stated plainly, with blush and stutters, in a way only a shy, nervous teenage girl could.

"Yes, you are... that is … if that's what you want…" Kurenai said distantly, now blushing her self.

"Of course I want it! It's what I want more than anything in the world!" Hinata replied this time with little shyness and vulnerability but instead force and passion.

"R-really? B-but I'm a woman…" Kurenai responded, now the other girl was making her nervous.

"A-actually… I-I've always been attracted to other girls… especially you… K-Kurenai-sensei." Hinata confessed in a particularly vulnerable tone. It was plausible to Kurenai that a girl so riddled with self-doubt as Hinata might have in turn suffered through doubts about her sexuality.

"I'm glad… b-but Hinata this is still… didn't you have hopes... of finding love with Naruto…" Kurenai gave a weak smile as she tried to clear away her own doubt.

"How could that matter, sensei…. I-I already have love with you… why would I want anything else now…" Hinata gave an audible mumble in an oddly romantic tone.

"Yes but, Hinata. Our love… people aren't going to understand it. You'll have to be very careful about who you tell about it, and it's doubtful you'd be able to tell your family at all…" Kurenai said somberly thinking now of what her and Hinata's relationship meant for the Hyuga family.

"As… as long as I-I can be with you sensei… I don't care if anyone knows… just us knowing is enough for me…" Hinata spoke with a sigh.

"I can't ask you to live like that Hinata…" Kurenai protested.

"It's what I want, sensei." Hinata said sharply, definitely.

"I'm happy." Kurenai said smiling at her lover's devotion to her feelings.

"I-I'm actually worried about you on this sensei… I mean you… y-you have…" Hinata started in a meek tone.

"Yes, Hinata... there are responsibilities associated with love… I don't want you to be uncomfortable…" Kurenai said in a searching yet consoling way.

"Of course. I'll do everything for you. B-but sensei, I was a little surprised… that… t-hat you wanted to love me… after…" Hinata started again winding once more to meek hesitations.

"I've been happy in the past Hinata. That doesn't mean I don't want to be happy in the future. You are my happiness." Kurenai closed her eyes in reflection a moment as she spoke somberly.

"Then I will… sensei I swear I will make you happy…" Hinata said with a sweetness that made Kurenai smile.

"I'll do my best for you as well. That is what love is." Kurenai said through her smile moving in close to stare in to her young lover's pale white eyes.

"And, I'll start to day by winning this tournament. I now have a real reason to fight and win." Hinata said intensely with a smile that matched her sensei's.

"I'd like that…" Kurenai whispered softly before kissing her lover one more on the lips, this time roughly and sexually as if in a reward for the way the girl gave her answers.

"I think I know what I'm going to want for that prize when I win now…" Hinata said in a deeply suggestive tone as she licked her lips wantingly.

"I wouldn't waste it on something you'll be getting regardless of how you do." Kurenai said in a deeply sexy tone of her own.

"That's good to know." Hinata smiled hotly then resumed kissing the older woman passionately, deeply with her tongue.

Allowing themselves to their distractions Hinata and Kurenai soon found that the hour of the tournament had approached rapidly. In haste, they raced to the competition site. Soon they had arrived in the same building as before again and the competition receptionist greeted Hinata once more.

"Miss Hyuga, good timing, the competition starts real soon. Just go through that door. Oh, and for this round of the competition you are allowed to bring one guest with you to help support you during and between your matches. Good luck." The receptionist girl said kindly.

"Did you hear that, sensei? You'll be able to come with me." Hinata said very happily as the two of them walked through the designated door.

"Yes. It's wonderful, isn't it?" Kurenai smiled broadly, as they crossed the floors to a private connected area where they would be able to view each match; there seemed to be several of these areas, many of which already contained the other contestants and their respective guests.

"So Kurenai, does Hinata here have what it takes to show the power of her taijutsu?" A deep, familiar man's voice called out to the two as it approached.

"Oh Gai… what are you doing here?" Kurenai asked as she looked upon her friend and fellow jounin, Maito Gai.

"The Hokage gave me the job to be the official over seeing this phase of the tournament. Then again, I suppose that's no surprise considering my reputation as Konoha's legendary beast of taijutsu." Gai said striking a pose as he bragged.

"Well, I suppose it's a slight improvement over that droll idiot Aoba we had yesterday… By the way, Gai, I'm surprised you didn't have Tenten enter this competition, she could have done well. I mean I heard about Lee." Kurenai said in a conversational way.

"Ha. Yes, Lee was able to show once again the true champion that he is. Through the power of hard work, he triumphed brilliantly over the competition to show he was the best." Gai spoke heartedly as he recalled Lee's dominance of the male bracket of the competition the prior week.

"Yeah…" Kurenai sighed harshly, in part wishing she hadn't brought this subject up.

"Those other two don't really have much taste for competition. Neji is a true genius but he doesn't like to show off much anymore, he'd rather just fight when he needs to. And Tenten's much the same, she's got a real noble quality to her and doesn't like to show her talents unless necessary. Lee's the one who still feels he needs to prove himself to everyone I guess." Gai said in his gruff tone.

"I suppose that makes sense. It took a lot of coaxing to get Hinata interested in the fight…" Kurenai said looking once more at the girl to her side, briefly recalling all the thoughts of the last few weeks as she did so.

"Well, let's hope things turn out in your favor… I think it's about time to start." Gai replied briefly with a flashing smile before leaving the two Kunoichi to prepare for the fights.

It wasn't long before all the contenders and their guests were secure and present in their designated private boxes. An audience had soon amassed in the public viewing box as well. Maito Gai had soon taken up center stage and proceeded to initiate the tournament.

"Hello, proud citizens of Konoha, and welcome to this year's annual Konoha Taijutsu Competition: Kunoichi Division Grand Battle Tournament phase. I am Maito Gai, Konoha's legendary beast of taijutsu, and I'll be serving as the official overseeing this tournament today. With that said let's start this tournament off right. The first match will be, Shinobu Sogu vs. Marise Kaizoku." Gai called out enthusiastically. The small crowd gave some shouts as the first two competitors made their way upon the stage.

Shinobu Sogu had an air of confidence that reflected in her dark brown eyes though Kurenai assumed it was very much forced. The eighteen-year-old girl was dressed in a relatively uninspired mock-up that looked as if it was merely a feminized version of the standard dress of a chunin. Her headband worn on her forehead in traditional style framed her mid-length brown hair comfortably. She held tightly to a long naginata which Kurenai assumed was her weapon of choice though Kurenai had no recollection of this girl from the day before. Kurenai thought that she could see nervous shivers run though the girl's legs periodically.

Marise Kaizoku also appeared to be quite confident, though for her this seemed as natural as breathing. She had the air of an adult woman, which suited her twenty-four years, though her deep gray eyes seemed even older. She was dressed loosely in a tattered mix of clothes that highlighted her incredible figure, everything being tight, torn and shaped right enough to draw all kinds of attention. Her wild mess of red hair trailed down her back recklessly and was framed similarly with her headband. Her weapons as Kurenai had remembered were a pair of large jagged wide bladed swords, which were quite daunting.

Gai gave the call to begin and shortly the girl's were facing off. Shinobu took a defensive stance while Marise charged forward speedily offering up a series of punishing blows that the other girl struggled to deflect with her polearm. Once Marise's onslaught had wound down a little Shinobu gave a hard twist of her naginata before making a rough cut with her blade which the swordfighter caught in between her blades and deflected it before offering a brutal cut to the younger girl's back.

"I don't think this one has much chance of being close." Kurenai remarked with a sigh as she watched.

"I hope I don't get over powered by an opponent like this…" Hinata said showing signs of fear.

"Don't worry about that. You just need to make sure you always pay attention to what your opponent can do. Watch Marise, she seems reckless but her style is mostly aimed at finding her opponent off guard. She backs them into a corner with her strikes, but only makes her real attack when a counter comes; a fairly efficient strategy to take out a defensive opponent if you got the right skills." Kurenai explained in a low tone.

"Right, Sensei. I'll make sure that I pay close attention." Hinata responded with a smile though her gaze seemed to travel away from the match and into the audience boxes. Kurenai followed her eyes and caught what they were seeing.

The private observation areas of Marise and Shinobu now contained only what must of accounted for either's guest and special observer. Shinobu's guest was a boy who looked about her age; he looked every bit as awkward and uninteresting as Shinobu and the way he stared on with a worried look told Kurenai that he must be her lover. In Marise's chamber was a young girl around nine years old with wild bright red hair; this girl was rather obviously some sort of relation to the rough woman as she actively jumped up and down with each successful blow Marise landed.

"Do ya see yet. You ain't got no chance a winin' against me." Marise shot roughly as she caught another failed strike of her opponents naginata on her blades.

"I can't give up… I can't give up… Ryosuke is watching me…. I must…" Shinobu began to pant aloud as the pain from the cut's riddling her body began to get to her.

Shinobu felt as Marise delivered a punishing blow with her knee to her stomach freeing their hold on each other. Shinobu struggled to regain her posture in order to avoid Marise's next vicious sword strike. She had yet to land a single blow on the second seed finalist but something about the way she held herself told Hinata and Kurenai that Shinobu was if nothing else dedicated. With a fierce movement of her blade Shinobu managed to deflect another strike of Marise's swords, she followed up with a kick to the girl's side hoping to break her guard. It worked partially as Shinobu found a break in which to launch a short stab that actually managed to connect to Marise's shoulder causing blood to spurt from the wound as it did. Marise clenched at her wound as she freed herself.

"A lucky hit, but I'm afraid that's all the luck you'll be havin'."Marise said as she bared a smug grin, which concealed her now piqued rage.

Shinobu made no reply only charged forth in offense with her rage in full. She gave a few eloquent spins of her blade before slashing forth in a fierce and brutal jump maneuver. It was a near flawless execution but that didn't stop Marise from evading it with a well placed roll and half-flip to the side. As Shinobu landed the elder chunin saw her ultimate opportunity to strike. A fierce swift slash to the girl's back later and Shinobu was down, blood gushing deeply from her wounds. The girl made a few slight movements in an attempt to stand up, but her will seemed broken and she seemed to collapse readily into unconsciousness.

"Shinobu! Please... be alright." The young man who was the 18-year-old's guest shouted as he raced toward the girl's limp body.

"She'll still be breathin' after that. But it's best ya get her to a hospital or somethin'." Marise said in a way that hinted concern as she turned and began in the direction of her waiting guest.

"You didn't have to go that far. Shinobu never did anything to you... but this is serious... this wasn't supposed to be a real fight..." The boy shouted now not withholding his tears as he leaned gently over Shinobu's broken frame.

"Trust me. If that had been a real fight. I coulda sliced your little girlfriend to pieces in seconds." Marise spoke softly as she continued off the field.

The young man soon took the losers body from the competition hall in search of medical treatment before Gai once more returned to the center of the stage.

"Alright. The champion of the first match is Marise Kaizoku who will advance to the next round where she will face off against the victor of the next match: Hinata Hyuga vs. Oki Kodoku." Gai said to signal the next round of competition.

"It looks like it's time..." Hinata sighed longly.

"Do your best, Hinata... and remember I always will love you." Kurenai responded quietly as she patted the girl softly on the head. She was now Hinata's lover and part of her wondered if she would react similarly to that young man during the previous round if she saw Hinata so badly hurt.

"I know... But, now, I'm going to give you reason to love me more." Hinata replied toughly as she got to her feet and exited the enclosed area.

Kurenai saw no reason to issue a statement like 'there's nothing you can do to make me love you more since I already love you more than anything.' Even if this was a truth, Kurenai wanted the girl to believe she had to succeed, and what's more, such words would only amount to trite romantic sentiment at this point.

Gai gave the call to start before either girl made a movement. Oki slinked lazily into a defensive stance with no wasted movements leaving Hinata on the offense. Hinata let her Byakugan flare as she launched a rapid palm thrust at her opponent with due focus. The Jounin caught the swift strike with her hands and forced Hinata into a tight hold by her arm. Hinata struggled vain to free herself of the woman's grip but was soon met with a jarring crash as she was hurled to the ground in a brutal throw. Not wasting any breath, Hinata regained her posture at once and made another high speed strike, which was unfortunately met with similar results as she felt the other girl's hand suddenly tight around her wrist. Oki then pulled her into another hold this time breaking it with a sweeping kick to her opponent's back.

Hinata got to her feet once more. She was obviously in a great deal of pain but the look in her eyes told Kurenai that the girl was far from broken. In fact the reflection in those soft pearl eyes, now distorted by the Byakugan showed that if anything Kurenai's love was more determined now then ever. Hinata jumped back then pulling a kunai from her things closed the distance. The young girl hurled the small knife at her opponent knowing full well the knife would be caught expertly, then proceeded to rush behind the opponent and disrupt her balance with a swift sweep of a kick. Oki moved effortlessly to evade the sweep, before being made target of an onslaught of enraged palm thrusts, now brought to levels of speed far outreaching all her prior attacks. The Jounin struggled to evade each rapidly ensuing blast of concentrated flowing chakra, but somehow managed to still avoid being hit as she parried the strikes with Hinata's kunai.

"So, girl, don't let it get to your head that you might be able to keep up with me. I know about those damn eyes of yours and I'm not impressed. I've got more than just my eyes that working toward my state of ultra-perception." Oki called out coolly, her nerves were invisible.

"It's not just… it's not just the Byakugan that is my strength… I will not lose to you…" Hinata said sounding somehow fierce and docile at the same time.

Hinata was determined to stay true to these words as she continued to move her palms at speeds quicker than anyone but her and Oki could see. Then Hinata slowed her strike considerably, allowing Oki to make a counter motion. This apparently was what Hinata had planned all along as when the older girl thrust her knife forward with due swiftness Hinata used her own reflexes to ensnare the other's arm in her own hold. Hinata unleashed a damaging blast of chakra directly into Oki's arm before finding the leverage to deliver her own punishing throw to the girl following that up with another torrent of connecting strikes to her down enemy. Oki recovered herself though she was now bleeding profusely on the inside; she jostled around a bit before realizing it was hopeless and falling to the ground once more.

"It's over just like that... Ha, you're real good kid. I guess the Hyuga really are the hot shit they claim to be then… I lost this one." Oki acquiesced as she sat clenching at her insides.

"I'm sorry… but I have a reason to win…" Hinata said unapologetically, she didn't like hurting people but she knew the one she loved was watching.

"I suppose just wanting to show off and make some quick cash isn't a good enough reason then." Oki replied in a sarcastic but pain deluded tone.

The match was called and a young woman around Oki's age who had been her personal observer came to the floor with an irritated expression. After scolding her friend about how pathetic she was, this girl proceeded to lead her off the field and over to where the medical team awaited. Kurenai gave a smile as Hinata rejoined her once more with a look of real accomplishment.

A/N: No, not again! I need to write short chapters again before you people all start expecting all chapters to be this long. That being said I had initially intended to have this chapter account for the entire first round of the tournament. But since I didn't want to rush the romantics at the beginning I decided I'd leave it at just the first two fights. I tried to spend as little time as possible on the first fight as, in case you couldn't tell Shinobu was the big throw away character of the bunch. I still tried to keep it at least somewhat relevant in some aspects, but yeah, I'm sure a lot of you skimmed that section. As for fight number two, it was fairly predictable. Since I made this a taijutsu competition I didn't want to give any of the characters any really weird abilities, so Oki was fairly limited in terms of skills. I wanted her to not be some weapon based fighter like Shinobu and Marise either, so I thought it would be a battle of perception and reflex. That being said the next chapter will be entirely battle oriented (though I'll try to still lace in romantic stuff in the dialogue and stuff between Hinata and Kurenai when possible). Expect the next four fights with me saving the last fight for the final chapter. So yeah, hope you continue to read.


	6. Reflections of Embattled Hearts

A/N: Very few reviews, but I'm guessing that's due to technical difficulties with the e-mail thing and not because you're not reading... at least I can hope so. Anyways, let's get this thing going for real now. Chapter six is here, expect a lot of fighting.

Disclaimer: The almighty emperor of dark dragon shadow magic will arise once more to conquer the galaxy (and neither he nor I own Naruto).

Kurenai now looked at her beloved. The young girl she had come to love was riddled with cuts and bruises, but the air of victory about her made her look still very beautiful. Hinata had fought so hard and so well to impress Kurenai, and it had worked. The jounin woman now was overwhelmed with love and pride and emotion as Hinata resumed her position next to her. Kurenai wanted nothing more than to greet her victorious lover with a deep, loving kiss but her mind reminded her that this was impossible in such a public space.

"You were amazing Hinata.' Kurenai said enthusiastically with a wide brimmed smile.

"I… was only able to win… because I knew you were there watching me." Hinata said giving a soft blush.

"Well it's enough to make me fall in love with you all over again. I'm having a hard time keeping my hands off of you." Kurenai admitted in a very soft tone.

"You'll just have to hold it in sensei… and then tonight… you can touch me as much as you want…" Hinata said suggestively, bringing her own voice to a barely audible level.

"Oh, I guess that is what will happen. I'll just store it all up for tonight… though you know if you do win I doubt you'll find any sleep tonight." Kurenai responded teasingly in a still muted voice.

"That sounds nice; now I have even more reason to win…" Hinata said giving a hot blush that seemed to indicate she was having a hard time resisting Kurenai as well.

"Oh yeah, Hinata, here. it's the healing ointment you like to use. It's best that you try to recover as much of your strength as possible before your next match." Kurenai said returning to a more normal inclination of voice offering a small container.

"B-but isn't it… isn't it unfair if I use something like that." Hinata said protesting the offer.

"All the contestants undoubtedly have ways to recover between matches. That's common sense Hinata, in a tournament like this where all the fights happen on the same day it's really quite necessary. I saw Marise treat her wound with some salve earlier. What's more some of these shinobi or maybe their guests might even know medical jutsu. You'd be at a disadvantage if you didn't treat yourself between matches." Kurenai explained thoroughly and watched as Hinata took the container from her.

"Thank you, sensei." Hinata said gratefully before letting her eyes find their focus back on the tournament.

"Ok. Time for the next round. Nyoko Hyoryusha vs. Muteki Kyuuketsuki." Gai called out starting the third match.

Nyoko Hyoryusha was thirteen years of age though by her appearance you would probably guess she was even younger. The genin was quite small, with a short, lithe body and wore suitable clothing for such a body. She aired of boundless enthusiasm that radiated in the childlike features of her face. She had bright green eyes and vibrant neon pink hair that was cut short in a cute way. In a complete contrast to her childish demeanor and appearance, she was equipped on either hand with oversized fierce looking serrated bladed claws.

Muteki Kyuuketsuki like Nyoko was a young genin kunoichi. Unlike the energetic thirteen-year-old, this fifteen-year-old showed complete detachment from emotion. Muteki looked quite scary really. Her hair was long down to her back and of a dark violet shade. She had soft hazel eyes that hinted at intense suffering and loneliness. She wore all black and there seemed to be a sort of anguish in her face. There was evil in her eyes and in her shapeless expression that made her look like Kurenai figured most shinobi did just before abandoning their village to become a rogue criminal or missing-nin.

Nyoko gave a hard, excited cry before leaping forward into a forward barrel roll and punishing the ground at Muteki's feet hard with her claws. As the claw contacted the hard ground Nyoko's chakra seemed to flow through it into each claw blade's serrated edges changing each blade into a rapid-fire chain weapon that ground the floor where Muteki stood instantly to dust. Muteki stepped back, showing no sign of surprise, concern or any desire to form her own attack. Kurenai figured this initial strike was Nyoko's way of showing Muteki the devastating power of her technique so as she would know to not get hurt. Something told Kurenai this was probably a mistake.

Nyoko leapt forth once more doing more careful acrobatics before clawing at her opponent directly this time sweeping her dangerous weapon at the other girl relentlessly. Muteki adjusted her position to give her exactly enough space to just avoid the attack before making an offensive move. She began a series of handsigns while subconsciously avoiding her opponents random attacks at calculated distances. In a minute or so, Muteki gave her final handsign and her pale skin proceeded to take on a slight gray hue.

"What sort of technique is that, sensei?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Not something I know much about. From what I saw yesterday, I assume it's a personal technique that allows Muteki's skin and muscles to resist damage. She likely is able to control her chakra and apply to her defense as she pleases in this state. I'm not too clear on it's offensive implications though as she had a hard time showing any destructive power in the second test." Kurenai gave her best reply to her eager love.

"I see…" Hinata nodded before returning her eyes to the fight.

At this moment Kurenai shifted her eyes to the crowd, specifically toward the competitors guests. Nyoko's guest was her Jounin sensei, a man Kurenai recognized. Muteki's box on the other hand was empty.

"I don't know what creepy girl is doing making her skin all ugly, but Nyoko's not scared. Nyoko's claws can break anything." The hyperactive genin girl shouted fiercely at her opponent before firing off another series of complicated acrobatic claw swipes.

"Pitiful…" Muteki said with a sadistic laugh.

Nyoko pushed her claw forth again and this time Muteki caught it in her hand. The crowd could see as the chakra channeling claw blade forced itself against Muteki's gray tinted hand, straining hard in order to find any leverage. Nyoko soon found herself overpowered as all five blades of her right claw broke to pieces against the surface of Muteki's palm, leaving only small traces of the elder genin's blood.

"B-but how…. how did…? Nyoko's claws can cut through anything, they can demolish everything easily. How did creepy-girl break Nyoko's claw with just her hand… i-it's…" Nyoko started n a nervous shock.

"Do you understand yet?" Muteki asked with an evil frown.

"No, it was a mistake… Nyoko can do this…" Nyoko said regaining her focus and launching another daring strike with her remaining claw.

Naturally this attack met with the same fate as the other as Muteki crushed the second claw to bits in seconds with just her palm.

"N-no. N-Nyoko's claws… Nyoko doesn't need her claws to beat you. Nyoko's stronger and better than you… yeah that's it…" Nyoko said regaining her fervor once more despite the realization it was likely hopeless.

The 13-year-old now struck with her bare fists and kicks, which seemed to house quite a degree of power for such a young kunoichi, though the other's calculated dodging still was in order. Then Nyoko attempted to connect a massive punch to Muteki's frame. This time the punch was caught in Muteki's palm as before. Nyoko found herself unable to escape despite the fact that Muteki held her by only the clenched fingers of her fist. Muteki's grip was impossible and made her whole hand ache in shear pain. Then Muteki made her movement, with her other hand landing a swift forceful blow to Nyoko's stomach. Nyoko gave a hard cough dislodging a large amount of blood before falling to the floor with a sharp thud, ending the match with a single punch.

"T-that was… how did she do that?" Hinata started in complete awe.

"I honestly have no idea." Kurenai acquiesced in a similar state to her lover.

The match was called and a barely breathing Nyoko was escorted away for emergency treatment by the medical team and her worried, but emotionally disciplined sensei. Kurenai doubted she could withhold emotion from her student now and admitted to herself that if Hinata were to be severely injured her reaction would be more in line with the lover from earlier than this sensei. Kurenai was content with this as it was after all her new role.

The crowd was in a state of shock and confusion so it was imperative the next match be started right away. Gai called out the names of Kusuriko and Umeko and the two met at the center of the floor, which was now torn up by Nyoko's misplaced landings on her claws.

Seventeen-year-old Umeko Yamisune was your average model kunoichi. She looked kind, strong, driven, and determined and was also quite beautiful. She was quite tall and her long soft blonde hair accentuated her piercing blue eyes. She was dressed in a cute effeminate robe that further added to her image. Kurenai noted that her guest was a woman a year or two younger than her who had very similar features. This girl had competed the prior day as well and recalling her name Kurenai knew she was Umeko's sister.

Top seed contender Kusuriko Kenkyakukuse was an imposing presence. The nineteen-year-old was also rather tall and had dark green hair tied in a long ponytail. Her strong brown eyes were key in defining the look of gentle and polite but intense strength in her being. She wore a long ceremonial robe and at her side wore a viciously long katana. Her guest, a strong, noble looking man around fifty, Kurenai recognized as the head of her sword school and father.

"I wish you luck. May the best shinobi's blade ring true." Kusuriko said in a courteous tone with a generous bow to her opponent.

"That's not exactly fair since I don't really have a blade." Umeko said with a nervous laugh.

"The blade is a metaphor of our soul's desire for victory." The elder ninja explained herself nobly.

"Alright then. Same to you… I guess." Umeko replied mimicking Kusuriko's bow as if she felt forced.

The fight soon started as Kusuriko unsheathed her oversized edge. Without further notice she unleashed a shockwave of energy from the tip of her sword with a sweeping slash cutting Umeko deep across her frame despite the distance between them. In reaction Umeko drew some shuriken and proceeded to form some clones with her jutsu. Soon Kusuriko was encircled in image clones armed with large shuriken. Volleys of shuriken came from each direction as Umeko masked her position with her clones. Kusuriko deflected each ensuing blade with her sword easily and then with another hard cut, sent a precise shockwave in the direction of Umeko's current location, cutting her hard once more across her entire body.

"You're not so easily tricked I see…" Umeko said in pain.

"You're combined skill at genjutsu and taijutsu is admirable Miss Yamisune, and I'm certain that you are master to a wealth of techniques for your efforts, but my blade is not so easily brushed aside." Kusuriko said serenely.

"I get the feeling I've already lost this one." Umeko said with a sigh before jumping forward with another attack.

The younger girl's next shuriken was larger than the rest and in moments, after a number of handsigns, it began to radiate with a dark purple energy. Umeko tossed it straight and true on its target and naturally, Kusuriko attempted to deflect it with her sword. The elder ninja gave a slight expression of surprise, as she seemed to cut through the shuriken as if it was air discovering it to be an illusion. The next moment Umeko struck from behind with a fierce close range shuriken barrage but to her immediate surprise, the entirety of her attack was faltered by a single sweep of Kusuriko's sword. Umeko, her tricks broken and the pain of the two deep sword cuts setting in fell to the ground and peacefully admitted defeat.

"You fought well Miss Yamisune. You hold the blade of a true warrior." Kusuriko said with a tranquil smile.

"I didn't land a single hit. I somehow got hit twice by your crazy technique and then gave up. I don't think that is exactly what I'd call fighting well." Umeko said with a hint of spite.

"It is the great warrior that know her own limits. What use is fighting when the only thing it will further is your pain?" Kusuriko said in her calm tone as if she had not even broken a sweat during the match that had left her opponent breathless.

"Ha… yeah…" Umeko gave a halfhearted smirk and a nod before finding her way to the medical team. The crowd began to murmur with anticipation as the time for the next level of tournament fighting began.

"You think you're up to the next one Hinata?" Kurenai asked with a hint of nervousness.

"I'll do my best." Hinata replied with a beaming smile.

"Remember watching Marise's technique. It may seem unpolished and uncalculated, but it isn't. Make sure you do your best to keep on your best guard and watch for surprise attacks." Kurenai said with due excitement as Hinata got to her feet and stretched a little.

"Right. I won't lose. I have a reason not to lose." Hinata said in equal parts reply to her sensei and her nerves.

"I love you." Kurenai said assuredly, as if in reminder, before sending her young lover to the floor.

"Alright… they have crushed their rivals swiftly in great displays of the true power of youth. Now, it is time for them to once more display the awesome might of their technique. Now Konoha Taijutsu Competition Round 2: Marise Kaizoku vs. Hinata Hyuga, begin!" Maito Gai exclaimed forcefully to the onlookers starting Hinata's second fight.

Marise wasted little time in going straight into her virtual blitz of furious attacks. Pushing Hinata back several marks, she swung her swords in varying intervals of speed and direction. At her swiftest Marise was far from matching Hinata's dodging speed but the range of the blades and their number made things problematic for the Hyuga girl as she struggled to deflect the sword strikes with repellent blasts of chakra from her hands. Marise was a model of ferocity and drive and despite Hinata's efforts, the young girl found herself on the end of a brutal slash to her right arm, just under the shoulder. Not being one to give in to pain, Hinata took Marise's reduced speed as her jagged blade tore through her flesh as an opportunity to deliver a punishing charge of chakra from her palm directly into Marise's chest, undoubtedly damaging her lungs.

"Heh. Ya coulda killed me there if ya had the lust for blood. You're a true fight." Marise said in an even harsher voice than usual as she coughed up a great deal of blood.

Hinata nodded respectfully as she felt her own blood poor from her deep cut down her arm. A mix of determination and pain clouded in the Hyuga girl's young mind as this time she charged forward with every bit the same intensity as Marise had. The elder chunin was in no position to keep up with Hinata's blazing speed but her swords were effective tools for keeping the attacks within a safe distance from her. She couldn't however hold her defense for long and soon Hinata caught her with a pumping palm strike to her stomach. Borrowing a page from Hinata's book Marise used her moment of pain as the moment of retaliation as she forced a sweep slash deep across the side of Hinata's waist.

"I can't lose… I have a reason now… I must win…" Hinata started as she clenched in pain at the feeling of her new wound.

"Don't ya see, girlie; we all got reasons we gotta win this thing. Only one of us can and I know my resolve is strongest." Marise said determinately though pain was obvious in her words.

"What makes you so sure of that… I have someone I made a promise to and this fight is the first step in assuring that I keep it." Hinata said passionately.

"Promises, eh? That's something to fight for… me, I fight for that prize…" Marise spoke in a breathy tone. Her and Hinata had both token up mutual defensive positions as the struggled to suppress the pain they were feeling.

"And you think that just wanting something like that gives you the strongest resolve?" Hinata addressed in a hard tone of disbelief.

"There ain't much good work for ninja these days. The odd jobs ya end up getting' stuck with on missions don't pay much either. My Kyri's a sweetheart but it's hard for a mother to raise her girl all alone when fightin's all she knows." Marise said in rough off-cuff way that suggested that she wasn't seeking for sympathy.

Hinata paused; she gave a slight glance back at the young girl in Marise's audience box. This was Marise's way to show her love to that child, just as it was Hinata's way to show her love to Kurenai. That meant that her reason, the one thing she had that made her resolve strong, was matched in equal by this woman. What's more Marise had something real and physical to obtain in winning. Hinata began to feel a curtain of doubt and uncertainty fall into place.

Soon the two were at arms once more. Marise was firing off slashes with unmatched vigor and Hinata danced speedily to avoid them. Something was off in her movements though and she soon felt a punishing cut clean across her back.

"Ya know if ya give up now it'll be harder ta keep that promise of yours." Marise said with a disappointed scowl.

"But maybe you deser-…" Hinata started unsure about what to say or do.

"I coulda sworn that look in your eyes was for real back there. But if 'your reason' really means nothin' to ya in the end… then I s'pose I won't have to hesitate to crush you here and now." Marise had a sort of maternal anger as she said her piece to Hinata.

"Your right… I have my reason… and you have yours. I'm not going to do any less then my best." Hinata said recovering herself.

Hinata's new found drive came in an intense blast as she found a new opening in Marise's relaxed guard and used it to launch a powerful strike to the woman's shoulder sending her a nice distance back with the force. Marise retaliated with a hyper speed cyclone of cuts which Hinata blocked any serious damage from but suffered several cuts along her arms. Hinata was losing too much blood and if she was going to win and prove herself as a shinobi to Kurenai and everyone she needed to do it now. Part of her didn't want to hurt Marise now that she knew that only yards away the woman's young daughter watched their match helplessly, but Hinata didn't want to lose either. Hinata received a few more deep cuts across her frame as she waited for a break in Marise's guard. She soon found her opportunity and in a bold move chose to penetrate the sword-wielder's range and force a immobilizing blast of chakra into the woman's back. Marise fell over and coughed up some more blood before in struggle realizing she could only with great painful effort move her arms and legs.

"I guess, my insides'll be torn to pieces now. I was scared cause I knew ya was a Hyuga, but that wasn't half of your strength…" Marise struggled to say.

"I-If I… if I win I'll let you have the prize money…" Hinata said thoughtfully.

"You got real heart, kid… but there ain't no use in a prize that you don't win yourself. Me and Kyri have always managed in the past, and the future'll be the same. There will be other opportunities…" Marise said in a gracious but prideful tone.

"Alright." Hinata replied softly as she began to walk back toward the one she loved noticing along the way that even walking was painful. Looking back she watched as Marise's young daughter ran onto the field and into her mother's arms soon a crew arrived to escort the elder woman to a hospital for medical treatment for her severe internal wounds.

"Hinata…" Kurenai said in a mix of emotions. Her Hinata was back by her side once more, and once more she was a victor. Still watching her precious one endure such levels of pain and agony had been insufferable and tears now flowed from her eyes.

"It's alright, sensei. I'm fine now. Because of you I won." Hinata said empathically.

"I just don't want to see you suffer." Kurenai cried softly trying her best to stem her emotions.

"I'll only have to suffer though one more match and then everyone will know how great a shinobi your love has made me." Hinata said in a comforting tone.

"I love you." Kurenai said again, this time as a way to calm herself.

"I know…" Hinata smiled at her lover as she used a section of her hand that was not soaked in blood to dry Kurenai's eyes.

"Hinata… take your clothes off." Kurenai said examining her love.

"B-but people are watching… we can't…" Hinata said in shy protest.

"I don't mean everything. Just take off enough so I can dress and treat your wounds before the final match." Kurenai clarified herself.

"O-Oh… right." Hinata blushed and smiled, now understanding Kurenai's intent.

Hinata stripped down to undergarments so as her sensei could clean her of the blood and seal and apply healing medicine to the open cuts. In truth Kurenai found herself enjoying the task of rubbing and bandaging her young lover's pained almost naked form.

Gai gave an enthusiastic call for the next match and soon Muteki and Kusuriko were squaring off. Kusuriko started with a swift energy slash at her opponent and followed it with several more rapid speed slashes. These same attack shockwaves that had ripped deep into Umeko's flesh, Muteki seemed to shrug off as if they were simple gusts of wind after Muteki had used her technique to once more assume the pale gray hued skin tone of before.

"I'm not sure I understand your technique miss Kuuketsuki. No matter, let us see now who's blade is more honorable." Kusuriko smiled at the thought of a challenging opponent.

"Honor is for fools. True power has no place for such a thing. It is fear and hatred that truly breed that power." Muteki said viciously as if she was stepping on Kusuriko's kindness.

"If that is your vision then let you see that my honored blade strikes through the hearts of demons without mercy!" Kusuriko said forcefully as if she had just taken incredible insult.

With a rage in her heart, Kusuriko charged in to deliver a slicing blow with her katana. The incredible sword shined intensely as it found it's way into Muteki's skin. As much pressure as she would allow Kusuriko couldn't get more than a skin deep cut on a blade that normally managed to slice though hard metals as if it was nothing. The still furious Kusuriko followed up with lightning fast cuts to every inch of Muteki within reach. When the torrent of sword motions ceased Muteki's clothes had been for the most part cut to shreds but her body showed no signs of damage save for trails of blood along some of the deeper cuts. 

"How can you resist the might of my blade…?" Kusuriko said with anger in her usually peaceful voice.

"I can make the outer level of my muscles into a chakra absorption layer. Then applying my chakra into a certain spot of my body I can create a wall of defense there that is impenetrable." Muteki explained in a dark tone.

"We will just have to see about that…" Kusuriko shouted in an oddly frustrated tone as she charged the younger girl with her sword. Muteki moved her hand just slightly to catch the blade in the palm of her hand. A foreign look of pain shown on her face as Muteki felt the razor sharp edge cut into her hand, but it was only momentary as in seconds the young girl had shattered the magnificently crafted blade to pieces. Relentlessly Muteki followed this up by delivering a punishing single fist to Kusuriko's stomach forcing her to her knees with pain.

"W-what was that… You broke my sword as if it was nothing… and then you… your strength where does it come from?" Kusuriko said fearfully as she kneeled, bent with pain.

"If I apply vast amount of chakra into my fist I can harden it to extreme levels. What's more, when my fist makes contact to your flesh I can absorb any chakra within that portion of your body, disrupting the chakra balance in your body and greatly weakening that areas defense by a degree." Muteki explained with a vicious laugh.

"I see… I will not give in to you." Kusuriko said as she got to her feet and pulled a short secondary sword from her side. The chunin gave a fierce yell before unleashing a series of deep cuts at points of Muteki's body exceedingly spread out. This strategy seemed to work better as all after the first were clear cuts that bled thoroughly and seemed to induce pain. However, from Kusuriko's expression it was obvious that she expected more from her exceptional swordplay. Muteki was largely unfazed by the level of pain she was feeling or the blood streaming out at all parts of her body nor was she fazed by the degree to which Kusuriko's attacks had torn through her clothing. Muteki gave one last twisted smile before making a swift movement in circle behind Kusuriko, making a swift grab at her neck. She clenched hard for a few moments before throwing the other girl's limp body to the floor with a thud.

A/N: I'm going to cut off there since this chapter is getting ridiculous in terms of length. I expected this since I was determined to get in four full-length fights. I tried to make them at least somewhat interesting, but I'm not sure if I succeeded. I rather liked the first fight, it was fun, as was the third fight but that's a given since that was Hinata's. The other two fights were a little… eh, I don't know exactly… they could have been better. I had initially when planning this tournament out, had the final fight scheduled to be Kusuriko vs. Hinata (I had Kusuriko as the main OC and the others as just supporting characters, but then I decided to expand more on the others as well) but I decided that I didn't really like her. I made her sort of arrogant and annoying, and her fighting style was boring so I gave the last match there to Muteki who I thought would make a better final opponent for Hinata. I already covered the whole Hinata struggling to fight against someone she respects theme well in the Marise fight so I think I have an excuse to let the fight be against the psycho. Anyways tell me what you think. I like reviews… Oh and one more thing, actually let's bold this and start a new paragraph:

**Important Announcement in regards to my next fic**: I have decided to drop the Anko X Temari idea I had for my tenth fic. I just can't come up with any spark for it and with this fic near completion I just figure I won't have anything when it comes. Now that brings me to what I am going to do next. As you may have noted, I haven't been adding requests lately, I actually feel at this point I don't want to commit myself to write a fic based solely on a fan request, me having an idea to shoot off of is more important. I still however really regard fan input in high regard. Thus I have decided to take a vote on what my next project should be out of the ideas currently flowing in my head. Just post your preference in a review or in a PM (provided PM's are working…) and tell me which of these ideas you want to see be fleshed out, and the one the most people want will be:

Choice 1: Pairing: Ino Yamanaka X Hinata Hyuga. Genre: Romance/Drama. Length: 5 chapters. General Timeframe: post-timeskip/future. Basic Plot idea: Hinata has always loved Naruto but has never been able to express her love for him. Distraught, Hinata seeks out the help of the always popular and seemingly outgoing Ino in order to help her learn how to be more attractive and assertive. Ino reluctantly accepts, but it appears that it might be too late for either of them to express their true feelings as they begin to realize Naruto has already fallen for the one that Ino has always secretly loved, Sakura.

Choice 2: Pairing: Sakura Haruno X Ayame. Genre: Romance/Action/Comedy. Length: 5 chapters. General Timeframe: post-timeskip/near future. Basic Plot idea: As they have matured, Sakura has found herself spending more and more time with Naruto. Consequently, this means spending more and more time at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. Sakura soon found herself going there constantly even when Naruto wasn't with her and she begins to wonder why. But in the shadow of a insidious master thief, Sakura may soon get an answer.

Choice 3: Pairing: Yugao Uzuki X Temari. Genre: Romance/Drama/Action. Length: 5 chapters. General Timeframe: beginning of timeskip. Basic plot idea: One day when conducting a raid against criminal ninjas for ANBU, Yugao is addressed with a cryptic message that her revenge awaits in the Land of Wind. As she relives newly surfaced memories of Hayate she makes a new pledge to find this revenge in the desserts of Suna village. Face to face with what she had thought were enemies Yugao soon learns that finding revenge may be harder than she thought; maybe it is better to learn to forgive and move on.


	7. Warmth of a Lover's Smile

A/N: Thanks to everyone for their support. I really appreciate everything. This will be this story's final chapter. I hope this proves to be a satisfying conclusion.

Disclaimer: Insert random nonsense here (insert statement of me disclaiming Naruto here).

Silence followed long gasps as the crowd watched Kusuriko Kenkyakukuse's broken frame fall lifelessly to the floor. A medical team rushed to the girl's side and proceeded to examine her. Right there in the middle of the tournament floor, the medics fought restlessly to resuscitate the girl's stopped heart. Finally, after much effort, Kusuriko gave some hard breaths before dislodging a pool of blood in a cough. The chunin writhed in pain as the medical team prepared a stretcher. Kusuriko was hauled away for major treatment while her father looked on with a mix of disappointment, anger, and relief.

"I… H-Hinata. This might be too much for you…" Kurenai said shaking her head in disbelief.

"I've already made my promise to see things through… I can't turn back now." Hinata said with distant strength.

"She almost killed that other girl. Whatever point you-…no, whatever point I was trying to make by forcing you into this tournament isn't worth it if it means your life or your health." Kurenai spoke hesitantly.

"I know that. I'm scared. This fight won't be like the others. But that's why I have to face this with strength. I need to prove that my shinobi way is something that I am willing to put my life on in order to see through." Hinata said slightly shaken but managing to flash a proud smile to Kurenai.

"Right…" Kurenai said being captivated by her lover's determinant drive.

"I love you." Hinata told her this time, realizing that this could be her last time to say it while keeping a confidence that she would ensure it wasn't.

"Yes, and I love you." Kurenai replied in a fragile tone, tears already starting from her eyes, as she took Hinata into her embrace for a tight but still non-suggestive hug before sending her out to the fight.

"Okay. It's time for the battle we've all been waiting for: The intense championship battle of this Konoha Taijutsu Competition Spectacular. Proving their tenacity in the face of the most challenging of opponents, these two incredible kunoichi have risen the ranks to prove themselves as truly exceptional ninja. But in the end only one can win in this fight. Hinata Hyuga the unparalleled young successor of Konoha's most prestigious clan and Muteki Kyuuketsuki the underdog eighth place contestant who has proven herself fearsome as she effortlessly rose up the ranks. Let's go. Match begin." Maito Gai called out in a sporadic manner, allowing the vigorous spark that had vanished in the shock of Kusuriko's defeat to return to the crowd once more.

Hinata proceeded to square off against her new opponent. Muteki's frame was largely coated in her own blood from the innumerable cuts Kusuriko had landed. Hinata had had some time in between this fight and her last and perhaps as such possessed an advantage in that she had had the time to let herself partly recover her body and chakra. By the same token, however, Muteki was by now fully caught up in the heat of battle; crushing Kusuriko's body and spirit had only seemed to embolden her lust for more blood. Kurenai could only wonder who was at a true advantage here.

"I-I'm not going to lose to you." Hinata asserted bolstering all the confidence she could.

"You will die here." Muteki let out in a soft dark tone.

Hinata wasted little time in taking up the offensive, bombarding the younger girl with a barrage of powerful palm thrusts. Muteki made great effort to dodge the fists as she had other attacks but Hinata was faster than her and the Byakugan gave Hinata much better perception. Muteki soon found herself on the end of one of Hinata's strikes. She gave a curious laugh that led one to believe that she really had no idea how Hinata's technique and her own would interact. On contact though she flashed a decidedly evil smile as Hinata felt hard pain cascade into her hand, leaving it feeling withered and lifeless. The Hyuga backed off a distance and with great effort forced chakra into her hand in order to revive it.

"Ha, it seems I can absorb the chakra you pump into me directly into my defenses. This is perfect. Attacking me is a wasted struggle for you." Muteki boasted now showing signs of amusement in her usually dully gloom face.

"I will find a way…" Hinata sighed under her breath as she pondered if she truly was without hope.

Hinata resumed her assault. This time Muteki didn't try to dodge any of the attacks as she now knew they would only make her stronger and Hinata weaker. Hinata didn't attack directly either, just delivering quick taps and swift kicks before attempting to catch the other off guard with a swift kunai strike which proved entirely ineffective against the other's solid defenses.

"This is too easy. It's quite amusing… that this will be the moment I will first be recognized for." Muteki was now laughing furiously as if she was enjoying every instant.

"Recognition… what is it you want to be recognized for." Hinata said finding a moment to pause.

"Very well, since you're going to die by my hand I can at least tell you why. You see, I've always had trouble making friends. No one seems to care about me; even my family seems to not have time for me. But when your blood is on my hands then… then everyone will know I am someone great and powerful. That I am someone to be feared. Then I can use that fear to strike back at this village and those who have failed to recognize me." Muteki said with intense wrath.

Hinata paused for a moment. Kurenai could tell from the look on her young lover's face what she was thinking. This was the same as her. Everyone saw her as the Hyuga heir. The real her was something pushed to the side and ignored. That was why her father had abandoned her back then, because she wasn't performing adequately to the expectations of what the Hyuga heir should be able to do. This was why people tended to avoid her, this was why she always looked to others for herself. This was what Kurenai had tried to address, this emptiness. Naruto had been the same and that was why Hinata had held him in such high regard. He was immediately judged by the villagers, and left to either except their definition of him or forge one himself. He had chosen the latter, and Hinata had tried to follow suit. She hadn't been strong enough, at least not until today, until she had fully accepted Kurenai as her strength. She had beaten back the fear and paranoia of her fellow man's perception of her in order to become someone strong who could be there for Kurenai. She now knew that it was up to her to prove to Muteki that she could do the same.

"You can't let people control you. You need to rise up and shape your own life." Hinata said showing a great deal of emotion in her Byakugan eyes.

"Ha, like the Hyuga golden child knows anything about shaping her own life. You can spew nonsense all day but nothing you say will affect me." Mutki responded in a cold tone.

"If you have faith in yourself and in your own abilities then others will naturally think highly of you. Besides, there are always people who will love you just because you're you. If you find strength in that love, you can use it to build a better you that everyone admires. At least that's my way." Hinata said with real passion behind her soft-spoken voice.

"With each word I want to kill you more… Are you done yet with your disgusting little lecture?" Muteki called out with a heavy frown.

"I will prove to you the strength that I have forged in myself and the ones whom I love." Hinata responded with indignant force as she prepared for a new attack.

Hinata began attacking Muteki, rapidly hitting the girl at rapid intervals at points spread out across Muteki's entire body. The strikes seemed to accomplish nothing; Muteki wore a smile as each time. When Hinata withdrew her hands from their incessant strikes on her they had the appearance of death and a look of shear pain adorned the girl's face.

"You think you can do what my last opponent did and cause damage by spreading out your attacks. Don't you see that with your technique, causing any damage is impossible?" Muteki bore a vicious smile as she shot a short confident laugh.

"That's not true. I can win; I'm sure of it." Hinata taunted proudly matching Muteki in confidence.

"Ughh… I must end this, Now!" Muteki said, disgusted, before deciding to take the offense herself.

She dislodged a furious strike in Hinata's direction which was avoided but followed with a ruthless sweeping kick. This, however, was blocked and merely brushed aside by Hinata. Who pushed the other girl back and drew two kunai before meeting a surprised Muteki with a look of renewed determination.

"My technique… It isn't working like it should. How is it that you can just brush of my attacks like that without feeling anything." Muteki said in soft and confused yet hateful tone, as she took up a defensive stance.

"For the same reasons, I can do this." Hinata smiled coolly before making a lightning fast movement toward Muteki dislodging the kunai she held at once into either of the young girl's thighs. Muteki writhed in pain as she fell to her knees clenching tightly to the small knives now quickly coating in the crimson of her blood.

"You… what did you do to me?" Muteki now seemed unusually emotional and distressed.

"The Hyuga technique can specifically target the body's chakra points…" Hinata said giving a slight glance in the direction of her waiting sensei.

"B-but even if you disabled all my chakra points. Even if you severely halted the flow of chakra in my body, that doesn't explain how you could… I keep levels of chakra in every part of my body to where any attack could easily be repelled without having to control the chakra flow directly." Muteki muttered spitefully, in a slow yet sporadic manner.

"The Hyuga technique can be used to increase the chakra flow as well." Hinata added insightfully.

"But that wouldn't have done anything but help me… I don't see how…" Muteki continued though the distraught look across her face revealed that she soon understood Hinata's plan.

"I can combine the two…. That's how I was able." Hinata smiled as if she was as proud in herself as her sensei undoubtedly was.

"So you increased and decreased the flow of chakra at my chakra points to your liking so that you could then effectively manipulate the flow of my chakra." Muteki said, now that she understood a sign of confidence seemed to return to her face as she pulled the kunai from her flesh and got to her feet.

"With your ability, your chakra flow was even easier to control than normal. The way you are now, it's likely by now you have virtually no chakra flowing in the lower half of your body." Hinata said trying her best not to sound arrogant.

"Even when you're smart you're stupid. If you really wanted to win, you would have decided to make the other half the target. As it is now, you're still going to have a hard time immobilizing me." Muteki cave a smug expression, that led one to believe her new strategy consisted of making the best of a bad situation.

"I don't want to kill you. I can actually achieve a more clear victory this way. Either way it would have been hopeless for you." Hinata said in a simple way.

"We'll just have to see." Muteki's replied in a sharp tone before charging in once more with a series of punches.

Hinata avoided each attack with ease, putting more distance between her and Muteki with each successful dodge. With the lack of chakra flow in Muteki's legs her speed was greatly reduced and the prospect of her landing a hit on Hinata now seemed ridiculous. Muteki resorted to pulling a kunai from her things and tossing it disjointedly at Hinata in a vain atempt to catch the girl off guard. Hinata caught the poorly thrown knife in mid air by the blade. Hinata moved to counter, lodging Muteki's kunai straight into her lower back and following it with several more of her own kunai into Muteki's thighs, legs and the sides of her stomach. She finished by launching two more kunai directly at the girl's feet. Muteki continued to launch attacks for a while despite what was obvious pain. Blood poured incessantly from each of her deep wounds and around each knife. Finally, Muteki seemed unable to move her legs altogether, her body twitched a bit before she fell hard to the ground, fainting into unconsciousness due to pain and loss of blood.

"I hope you now see… That someone can be strong if they just believe they can be." Hinata said in a soft, heart-filled way that suggested that at the moment she believed her words more than anything else.

The match was then called in Hinata's favor. Gai soon returned to the floor and positioned himself next to Hinata before opening his mouth.

"What an exciting match! We finally have arrived at a winner today in this Konoha Taijutsu Competition grand battle phase, Hinata Hyuga, has proven herself to be the best of the best, an exceptional shinobi who's Taijutsu burns wildly with the untamed power of youth." Gai said in his usual exuberance as he proclaimed Hinata the tournaments champion over the roar of the ecstatic crowd.

Soon, Hinata was presented with a small trophy and her cash prize which she accepted with a gracious smile. Moments later she was handed a document signed by Tsunade proclaiming her to have special status as a preferred shinobi of Konoha. As she returned once more to her sensei's side, this usually insecure and shy girl beamed with a radiance of self-worth and accomplishment.

---

Kurenai and her lover spent the rest of the day celebrating Hinata's victory in town. Hinata's wounds in the final fight had been minimal so the two were able to enjoy the rest of the day peacefully. By the time the two returned to Kurenai's home it was already night. Kurenai felt pulses of excitement in the fibers of her being as she stared once more at the young girl she loved, now returned to a private sanctuary for their love. Hinata had really proven herself that day; she had shown such strength, passion, and drive that Kurenai couldn't help but feel waves of girlish anticipation seized hold of her as she thought of Hinata holding her once more.

"You don't know how proud I am of you." Kurenai started in, knowing that her distracted, distanced gaze and silence might be off-putting to the Hyuga.

"Yes, I-I never would have believed I could have actually won something like that." Hinata said revisiting moments of personal glory.

"You became so strong out there. You know when I was training you last week. I was trying to capture this strength. I had become convinced it wasn't in there..." Kurenai acquiesced in a soft reflective tone.

"I guess it was… it just took a more… direct approach for you to get it out of me." Hinata replied giving a smile that clearly suggested the mischievous intent of her words.

"You really were great today. After that performance, I'm sure the Hokage will already be considering you for jounin during the next selection." Kurenai said dotingly.

"I'm still more interested in the prize I'm supposed to be getting from you…" Hinata replied softly.

"Oh, so you decided on something you want; what could that be?" Kurenai laughed.

"I-I want to move back in with you again, sensei... So that we can start a life together" Hinata said with a nervous, naive quiver in the inflection of her words.

"That's it? I thought that much was already sorted out." Kurenai said smiling.

"You don't think it will look weird if we live together, do you?' Hinata asked in a meek way, it kind of relieved Kurenai that the nervous, shy teenage girl she knew so well was still in there.

"No. There are many excuses that could be made for it. We already once used to live together. It will be assumed that nothing has changed since then." Kurenai said finding herself once more in the familiar position of reassuring the girl. The fact that both of them realized that this love, at least for the moment was something to keep secret didn't bother her in the least.

"I'm happy…" Hinata smile widely as she focused in on her lover's eyes.

"So, is that all you want then, Hinata?" Kurenai asked giving a slight sensual coo.

"Well there's this too." Hinata replied sweetly as she moved to press a hot kiss on her sensei's waiting lips. The two kissed romantically for a few moments before allowing themselves to get lost in the lust of the moment.

Soon they were both once more atop the bed familiar from the previous night. Hinata held Kurenai tightly in her embrace as she forced her tongue rigidly to the edges of Kurenai's lips eliciting soft moans from the older woman who used both her hands to explore her delicate lover's beautiful frame once more. Hinata's hand moved to Kurenai's cheek as she gently stroked her face while staring endlessly into Kurenai's eyes.

"I love you." Hinata said with such certainty that it made Kurenai's heart jump despite the fact she had heard it many times before.

"I love you." Kurenai replied. The air was thick with love as Kurenai and Hinata fixed their gaze into the other's eyes. Lover's smiles encompassed both girls' faces, as they knew their hearts would now be forever connected.

A/N: That's the finale. Tell me your thoughts. I had debated inserting a second lemon in here but decided against it. I thought it would kill the downward motion of the fic and generally just be out of place. I think I would have struggled making a scene that could stand up to chapter 4 anyway. I still tried to make the whole uber-cute romantic ending. That fight might have been a little cheesy. I tried to connect it back to some story themes and stuff from earlier and I'm not entirely sure it was too captivating. I'm also not sure what extent the Hyuga can actually control their opponents chakra. I don't know, but that whole chakra manipulation thing was the best I could come up with in regards to a way for Hinata to win. I suppose in hindsight I should have given Muteki a power that would be easier for Hinata to deal with (although initially I had Kusuriko in the final match so it didn't seem necessary for Muteki being someone Hinata needed to deal with). Overall this concludes one of my better fanfics in my opinion (also this is my longest fanfic). You tell me what you think. It seems like I've been writing this one forever so I'm happy to be moving on to something new. Speaking of the new fic, in case you missed it last chapter, my next fic is being determined by vote. It will be either: choice 1: Ino X Hinata, choice 2: Sakura X Ayame, or choice 3: Yugao X Temari. If you haven't voted yet feel free to inform me your choice in a review or PM. See my profile or chapter six of this fic for more details. Voting will close on Tuesday morning when I start actually writing the fic.


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